Lost
by H8trzgonnah8te
Summary: After being separated from Christa, Clementine is suddenly kidnapped by the same people responsible for her friend's presumed death. Now at the mercy of a depraved group of men, the girl finds herself imprisoned and tormented. Kept powerless, with no one to trust, she waits for the nightmare to end. But that all changes when she meets Ray, who promises to protect her with his life.
1. Chapter 1

_**Thanks gaara king of the sand for error checking.**_

* * *

"Christa. Talk to me." Clementine felt a cold chill run through her as she sat in silence, waiting for Christa's attention.

Christa however ignored the child. The woman let out a sigh, standing up and walking away.

Clementine felt neglected and hurt by Christa's actions.

Christa walked over to the campfire. Using a stick, she started to poke at the fire.

"This will never work." The woman tsked. "Look at this... it's pathetic. The wood's too wet to burn. There's more smoke than flame." Christa said. "At this rate we'll be eating this for breakfast."

Clementine sighed. "It's okay... I can wait."

"All we do is wait and for what?" Christa replied. "You should be doing this, not me. Tending a fire so you can cook and stay warm... It's something you have to be able to do, Clementine. Otherwise..."

Clementine lowered her head as Christa trailed off. "We need to find a group. People we can trust."

"You really think you can trust anyone out here?" Christa asked harshly.

Clementine frowned, "I don't know… Not everyone is bad…"

"Keep telling yourself that." Christa replied. "You can't trust anyone. You should know that by now."

Clementine opened her mouth to speak, but quickly stopped herself. She wanted to say 'But I trust you' but she didn't know how the woman would respond. She was pretty sure Christa didn't return that trust after what happened with Omid. Sometimes Clementine found it hard to even trust herself…

As she pulled herself from her thoughts, she realized Christa was still lecturing her.

"Trusting random people will only get you hurt or killed. You need to keep that in mind, got it?" Christa said.

Clementine sighed, "Yeah…"

"Good."

Silence fell over the two.

Clementine wrapped her arms around herself as a cold air hit her. "I'm freezing."

"You think this is bad, wait 'til we get up to Wellington, then talk to me about cold. If we make it. We still have a couple hard months ahead of us." Christa stated. "This rain will turn to sleet, then ice, then snow. It won't be easy."

"Is it safe there...?" Clementine asked.

Christa shrugged. "Safer than here because of the cold. Or so they say. We just need to keep moving north."

The two fell quiet again.

Clementine hated how hard it was to keep a conversation going with the woman. The child sighed once more, "I miss Lee..."

"I'm sure you do." Christa said, before standing. "I'm going to go look for more wood. You just keep the fire lit."

Clementine watched as the woman walked away, leaving her alone.

The girl looked towards the slowly dying fire with a sigh. Standing, she made her way to her backpack.

She reached into her bag and slowly closed her hand around a picture. Her mouth went dry and her heart caught in her throat. Her hand was shaking, almost uncontrollably as she looked at the picture. There in the picture was her late guardian. Tears formed in her eyes as she looked at it but she quickly wiped them away. Her heart ached and she desperately wanted to be with the man in the photograph.

She slipped the picture into a pocket, before grabbing another piece of paper. This one was a drawing, one she had made herself. It was Kenny, Katjaa, and Duck. Seeing the picture only hurt her heart more. She slipped this picture into her pocket as well before finally fishing out her lighter.

She then made her way to the fire and with a spar piece of paper she lit the flames back up.

"Better... But still not enough. The flames are too low." She said, speaking out loud.

The child stood and started searching for something to keep the flames going.

Eventually she found a piece of wood, which she put into the fire to burn.

She watched the fire for a moment, before suddenly hearing voices in the distance.

"You're obviously with someone. Where's your group?" A voice asked.

"I… I don't..." Clementine heard Christa stammer.

"Don't fucking lie to us!" Another harsh voice snapped.

"Give us the truth and you don't get hurt." Said a third voice. "You fucking with me?"

Clementine let out a gasp as she noticed Christa surrounded by three unknown men.

"Where's the rest of your group...!?" The first man demanded.

"I-I'm by myself." Christa said.

"Bullshit!" Said the second man.

"She's lyin'" Came the third's voice.

"Cut the shit, lady!" The first man grumbled.

"It's... It's just me." Christa said.

"Come on guys!" One of the men aimed his gun at Christa's head. "She's not saying."

"You expect us to believe you're out here all alone...!?"

Clementine quickly picked up a rock, throwing it at one of the men and hitting him in the face.

"What the fuck?!" One of the men exclaimed.

The three men looked to the child as Clementine called out, "Christa, Run!"

Clementine started running, the man she threw the rock at took off after her.

The girl heard a gunshot go off and she felt her heart drop. She could only hope Christa could get away, but that gunshot was telling her otherwise.

Clementine tried her best not to panic as the man chased after her.

"Get the fuck over here! NOW!" He exclaimed.

Clementine ducked behind a tree, hoping he wouldn't see her.

"Motherfucker..." The man swore. "Come out here, girl. I'm not fucking around."

Clementine could hear him getting closer and quickly made a break for it.

"Shit!" The man quickly ran after her. "Get the fuck over here!"

Clementine dodged him, sliding under a fallen tree.

"Goddamn it!" The man growled.

The man was persistent, as he continued to chase her.

Clementine dashed away, nearly running into a walker.

The creature grabbed for her. Panicking, Clementine stumbled, slipping to the ground, while trying to avoid it.

She scrambled to get up as the man chasing her knocked the walker to the ground.

Clementine grabbed a branch off a nearby tree.

He tried to grab her and she moved away to one side of him.

"Whoa." The man turned to her and Clementine took the chance to thrust the pointed part of the branch into his shoulder.

The man groaned and pain.

Clementine quickly turned and ran. Once again she ran without looking back.

She ran with all her strength, jumping over stumps and branches. Suddenly, the child slid to a stop. Losing her balance, she nearly fell into a river. She was so caught off guard, she didn't have time to move before she was suddenly grabbed from behind.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Clementine yelled.

"Then stop fucking running!" The man retorted. "Quit squirming!"

Clementine struggled in his grip, but he wouldn't let go.

Desperate, she caught his thumb with her teeth and bit down.

The man let out a shout. "FUUUUUCK! Ow, Let go you little bitch, Jesus Christ!"

Clementine sank her teeth into his skin as hard as she could, drawing blood. The man yelled in pain, dropping the child.

The girl ran, spotting a log, she dropped down and crawled into it. The man ran towards her and caught her foot.

"Come out of there!" He snapped.

She kicked him as he started to pulled her.

As he continued to drag her she latched onto a tree. However, the man was too strong and pulled her off.

"Kid, you are on my last fucking nerve!" The man spat. "Stop fucking kicking!"

Clementine kicked at him with all her might.

She pounded him on the head with her fist, but he quickly grabbed her wrist, restraining her.

"LET ME GO!" Clementine yelled.

Clementine felt the man's fist suddenly connect with the side of her head. Pain exploded in her head.

Clementine tried to stand but he kept her pinned.

The man continued to punch and choke her.

It was all happening so fast. The little child fought for her life, but she could feel her consciousness fading away.

* * *

Slowly Clementine regained her senses. Her head felt as if she'd been hit with a baseball bat.

Clementine noticed a fire as she slowly opened her eyes, wondering if it had all been a dream. "Christa?" She called as she sat up.

"Look who's awake." A male's voice reached her ears.

Clementine's heart dropped. The girl tried to scramble to her feet. Clementine felt an uneasy feeling in her chest and her stomach churned.

"Oh no you don't." She froze as the man aim his gun at her.

"Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way," he growled, "I don't mind, but I can tell you now you won't like the hard way."

Clementine didn't respond.

She looked around, realizing that they were in the very spot that she and Christa had been camping but Christa was nowhere to be seen.

"Please… Just leave me alone." Clementine begged.

Clementine searched for an escape as the men surrounded her. Once she spotted an opening she frantically scrambled to her feet.

"Nu-uh." A second man spoke, grabbing her by the arm.

Clementine struggled as the man grabbed her, opening her mouth to scream. She didn't get a chance as he clamped his hand over her mouth.

She fought to free herself from his grasp.

"Such pretty eyes... You're a great catch." He said.

Clementine fought with everything she had. The child sent an elbow into the man's stomach, stomping hard on his foot.

He released her and double over in pain.

The child stepped forward, eyes wide in fear. She backed away before breaking into a run, consumed with fear.

She heard the men swear and start chasing after her. She didn't make it far as they soon caught up.

One of the men grabbed her.

Clementine let out a yell, "Let go of me!"

"I got her. I got the little shit!" The same man who chased her before said.

"Stop it!" Clementine cried. "Leave me alone!"

"Shut the fuck up, you little bitch." The man said.

Clementine decided she only had two choices. Fight and hope to escape, or comply and hope they didn't seriously hurt her. She chose the first. She kicked the man holding her, trying to free herself from the man's grip.

Clementine tried to scream, but someone muzzled her mouth with their hands.

The man threw her hard to the floor.

"Strip her. Strip the bitch!" One of the men said.

Clementine struggled. "No! Let me go!"

Clementine fought and struggled, but the men were too strong for her. They ripped her clothes from her body while she helplessly fought.

"She's a fucking beauty."

"Why are you doing this?" Clementine asked, fighting tears. "Stop it. Just stop now and leave me alone."

"Not happening." One of the men said forcing her to her knees. "Open up, bitch."

Clementine looked confused as the man unbuttoned his pants, shoving his private part in her face. She looked away.

The man grabbed her head. "I said open up, slut."

Clementine shook her head. She didn't want that thing in her mouth.

The man's fist met her cheek and she whimpered. "Open."

Clementine opened her mouth and he immediately shoved his cock between her lips.

For the next few minutes the man enjoyed her pathetic attempt at giving a blowjob. Clementine gagged, fighting the urge to vomit.

As she focused on the man in front of her she suddenly felt a cold hand rub over her panties. She tried to move, but the man in front of her held her in place. She felt her panties slowly being pulled down and started struggling, biting down on the thing in her mouth.

The man howled in pain.

"You stupid cunt," He snapped, grabbing the child by the arms and lifting her off the ground.

Clementine was trembling, scared for her life. She was pretty sure they had killed Christa and that she was next.

The man suddenly threw her face-first to the ground. Clementine let out a cough as she hit the cold ground, trying to get up, but she was suddenly pinned down and held immediately by two men.

Clementine struggled as the men held her down.

She struggled even more as she felt one of them stripping her panties down her legs.

"Stop it! Stop it!" Clementine cried.

One of the men threw a hand over her mouth. "Shut the fuck up."

Clementine kicked, and thrashed, but it was no use. She bit over the hand covering her mouth only to receive a hit in the face.

"You know what, bitch…" The man grabbed her newly removed panties and balled them up, shoving them into the girl's mouth. "Maybe those will keep you quiet."

Clementine felt one of the men touch her private area as another one played with her undeveloped chest.

She squirmed, trying to get away but was held tight. She let out a muffled shriek as she felt a finger force its way into her vagina.

Clementine's face was a mask of fright, pain, and humiliation as she whimpered. She tried her best not to cry, but she was failing.

Clementine panicked, staring wildly from one man to another, seeing nothing but cruelty in their eyes.

She suddenly felt something press against her private area.

She squirmed in a vain attempt to close her legs.

She felt a sharp pain as whatever was pressing against her entered inside her. She let out a scream.

He drove into her again, causing her to cry loudly with his thrust.

"She's so hot! And tight!" The man commented.

Their bodies rocked on the grass. As the man pumped into her, blood began to lubricate his cock, making his job easier.

Clementine didn't know how long this continued. She let out blood curdling screams that were still able to be heard despite the child being gagged, and fought harder, trying futilely to stop the men from hurting her.

Some minutes later, her muffled screams and cries turned to whimpers and sobs but the man didn't stop.

After what seemed like an eternity to her, he pulled back for one last push.

Clementine winced as she felt him shoot something into her. She wondered if he was peeing inside her.

When he had finished he pulled out. Immediately he was replaced by another man, then another, and then another.

Unable to stand the pain any longer the child passed out.

* * *

When she woke up, she was in an unfamiliar place.

The child tried to sit up only to find she was bound to a bed. She quickly realized her clothes were gone. Remembering what happened, she started to struggle to break free. It was no use.

During her struggle she didn't hear the door open.

"You awake?" A voice was heard.

Clementine flinched as the man approached her.

"Good." He said.

She didn't recognize this man. She remembered the faces of the three men who attacked her in the woods, but this wasn't one of them.

"They should've kept your friend around too. We would've had two pretty bitches to play with." The man said.

Clementine closed her eyes. She felt bad about Christa but she was glad that the woman didn't have to go through this.

"What do you say we have a nice good morning fuck?" The man said.

Clementine didn't know what he meant but she didn't want to find out. The child froze as the man approached her.

He unzipped his pants and climbed onto the bed, hover over the girl.

She felt him force her legs apart. Clementine kept her eyes clenched shut, bracing herself for the pain.

She screamed when she felt him enter her. Tears fell from her eyes as he moved inside her.

She could feel blood wet her thighs.

These people didn't even know her name. They knew nothing about her, and yet they had seen, had touched, had been inside her most private place.

Clementine hadn't even realized something could go inside of her private zone. She had thought that was just where she peed from and when she was a grown up, if she got pregnant the baby would come out of there.

Clementine tried to move away.

"Don't fight me bitch." The man snapped.

"Let me go!" Clementine cried.

He quickly grabbed the girl by the throat and squeezed. She began to gasp and choke.

After several seconds, he let the girl go and she whimpered a bit.

"If you fight, and I will choke you. Do you understand me?" he snarled.

"Y-y-yes." Clementine gasped.

She endured the pain in her vagina for a while longer before he finally stopped, "peeing" inside her.

She felt him pull away before leaving her alone on the bed.

Christa's words echoed in her head as she lay in pain. _"You can't trust anyone. You should know that by now."_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Thanks for the help gaara of the sand.**_

* * *

Clementine was alone for only an hour before another man enter the room.

She fought against him and in turn she was savagely beaten and raped for the second time that day.

Clementine's hysterical screams filled the room but that didn't stop the man from hurting her.

"Shut up, you little bitch." He growled.

Clementine whimpered, trying her best to be quiet. During the attack, the man repeatedly threatened to kill her.

Clementine just wished he would leave her alone.

"Shut the fuck up." The man said to her as she whimpered. "Do you want to die?"

Clementine shook her head.

"Then stay quiet." He said. "Don't move."

Clementine felt him shove her legs apart moving his face close to her private area. She tried to force her legs close but he held them open.

The man leaned over and gave her a lick.

Clementine gasped, pulling at the ropes holding her.

The child started bucking and straining against her restraints.

A very soft moan escaped her mouth as he licked her.

Her eyes were squeezed shut and she was trying as hard as she could to fight off the feeling. Her body reacted against her will.

"Why don't you just relax and enjoy it," The man said.

Clementine couldn't speak. Her head was spinning as he slid his tongue back to her area. She started trembling, as the strange feeling grew stronger.

Clementine squirmed and tried to move away but he just held her still as the feeling exploded through her body.

Clementine's eyes were wide. She was terrified, with no idea what was happening.

She began gasping for breath, small moans escaped from her lips and she felt waves of pleasure roll over her young body.

When she finally came down from her orgasm, the man stood and moved over her. He pressed his lips to the girl's causing her to turned her head.

"You should be thankful for what I just did," he said sternly. "You're a slut. Say it."

Clementine didn't say a word.

"Fucking say it." The man growled.

Clementine still said nothing.

"We're having a communication problem." The man said, smacking the child. "I want you to listen to me. Stupid bitch, what is wrong with you?"

"I'll kill you..." Clementine mumbled.

"What?" The man asked.

"I hope you die!" Clementine snapped.

"What did you just say?"

Clementine felt the man wrap his hand around her throat, choking her.

"Apologize." The man demanded once her released her.

"I-I'm sorry..." Clementine whimpered.

"Good." The man said.

Eventually the man moved away. Walking around to the side of the bed, he told her to return the favor.

Shoving his penis into her mouth. Clementine's neck hurt from the angle, and she gagged from the taste.

Without thinking, she bit down.

"FUCK!" The man yelled. "Stupid fucking kid."

He had punched the side of her head with such a force that Clementine could feel blood drip from her temple.

She was dazed and seeing spots dancing before my eyes while he berated her, calling the child every naughty name he could think of, some of which Clementine had never heard.

The child sat there, trying to regain her focus.

His words were a jumbled mess in her head, but his message was clear. If she ever did that again she'd be dead.

"Stupid little slut." She heard the man grumble as he fixed his pant before leaving her alone once again.

* * *

She didn't react when she suddenly heard the door open. She laid unmoving, waiting for whoever entered the room to hurt her.

"Holy shit..." A voice muttered.

Clementine glanced to the person. She hadn't seen him before; he was relatively younger than the other men.

He made his way to the girl and Clementine clenched her eyes shut.

"Hey..." He called gently. "I, uh... I brought you some food."

Clementine didn't respond.

"Here, eat something." The man reached out and touched her but Clementine flinched in response.

"It's alright..." He said to her.

Clementine opened her eyes as she realized that he was undoing the restraints on her little wrist.

She looked to him, confused as he helped her sit up, covering her with a blanket.

"Hey, what's your name, kid?" He asked.

Clementine didn't answer.

"My name's Ray." He told her.

"...I... I'm Clementine." The girl muttered.

"How old are you?" Ray questioned the child.

Clementine answered in a quiet voice, "I'm eleven...How old are you?"

"I'm twenty-one." Ray replied.

"Okay." Clementine said.

"Come on, eat something…" Ray said, holding the plate in front of her.

Clementine looked to the food with a suspicious look.

"It's okay… I promise I won't hurt you." He noticed the child's swollen cheek and the blood that cover the bedsheets. He felt sick to his stomach. Judging from her condition, if she was kept there any longer that girl would not survive her childhood.

"We're leaving…" Ray suddenly said.

Clementine looked up in surprise.

"I'm going to get you out of here." Ray declared.

"W-Why?" Clementine wondered.

"Because they shouldn't be doing this to you." Ray responded. "We're going have to wait until their gone…"

"When will that be?" Clementine asked.

"I don't know." The man said honestly.

Clementine fell silent again, before she sniffled a bit. Sniffles turned into sobs.

Ray frowned, "It's alright, sweetie… Everything will be okay…" He placed the food down, seeing that Clementine wasn't eating it.

After the girl had finished crying she was exhausted.

"You alright?" He asked the girl.

Clementine nodded. "Yeah… I just want to sleep…"

"Okay… Try to get some rest." Ray said as the child yawned. He waited for her to lay down, but she never did. Instead, she moved against the headboard of the bed, staying in sitting position. She closed her eyes and fell asleep.

"Poor kid…" Ray felt terrible for the little girl. He needed to get the child out of there. He'd be damned if he stood by and did nothing while a child was being hurt.

Ray walked out of the room.

"She eat?" Someone asked upon spotting him.

Ray shook his head. "She's sleeping… Kid's exhausted."

"I bet she is." The man responded.

"You had a daughter, Lance… How can you hurt a child like that?"

Lance just shrugged in response. "Maybe she'll start liking it if she complies more."

"Yeah, fucking bitch bit me earlier." Another voice spoke.

"Well, you had your dick in her mouth. She didn't have any choice, Winston." Lance scoffed.

"You could whoop her ass." A third man said.

Lance shook his head. "Now, now, Victor… We don't want to hurt her too much…"

"You should give her a try, Ray. Might like it." Winston said.

"He ain't gonna do that. Ray's a good boy…" Lance said a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Ain't that right, Ray?"

"You're all sick… She's a fucking kid." Ray scoffed.

The men only chuckled at that.

"You're right son." Lance said. "She is a kid, but she's also a girl. Which means she's here for one reason.

Ray just shook his head in response.

"A guy's gotta get release someway…" Ralph said.

"Not that way… You're raping a kid." Ray said.

"She learn it on her own eventually. We're just breaking her in." Lance said.

Ray didn't say anything in response. There was no point in arguing with them, he just had to get the kid out of that place.

* * *

She didn't know if she could take much more. She was in so much pain. She didn't understand why this was happening to her. Was she being punished?

After nearly a week of abuse, the girl was just ready to for it to end... She had been raped so many times, over the course of five days, that she had lost count.

If she fought it was only worse. They'd beat her and then have their way with her.

The only person who ever cared to be kind to her was Ray. Clementine liked Ray. He actually seemed to care about her. He always came to check on her, made sure she was fed, made sure she was alive…

Part of Clementine didn't want to be alive anymore, she wished the guys would just finish her off already.

Locked in a windowless room, there was little she could do to get away, and knowing that she was powerless to prevent what was happening made it all the worse.

Eventually she stopped fighting. She'd just lay there and let them use her as they please. She was too broken to fight anymore.

She didn't know what to do. She didn't want to think about the pain anymore. She knew if she did, she'd dissolve into a waterfall of tears.

Instead, she stared up at the ceiling, trying to think of a happier time; It was the only way she could keep her heart from breaking.

Later that afternoon, Ray had come into the room to check on her, bringing her food.

He sat on the bed beside her, "The guys are leaving tomorrow. They're supposed to be doing some kind of errands." Ray told her. "We'll leave in the morning."

"W-Where will we go...?" Clementine asked.

"I don't know, but we'll figure it out." Ray said. "We'll have to take our chances."

Clementine was silent for a bit before mumbling, "Okay..."


	3. Chapter 3

_**Thanks to gaara king of the sand for the help.**_

* * *

The next day came and Clementine was feeling anxious. She knew Ray said they were going to leave. She just wondered if escape would truly be possible.

Clementine was up bright and early. When someone opened the door, Clementine had hoped it was Ray. The child's hopes were dashed when she suddenly felt herself being pinned to the bed.

She tried to struggle away but was held tight.

She was whimpering from the pain. Struggling as she was used against her will. Until eventually, she passed out.

* * *

When Clementine felt a hand on her shoulder, nudging her awake, her first thought was to panic.

"Hey, Clem… Time to wake up…" Came a gentle voice.

"D-Don't hurt me!" Clementine exclaimed.

"Shh…" Black, short hair slightly covers a worried face. Concerned brown eyes, meet her own.

Clementine feels panic slowly fade away.

"Those assholes are gone. We gotta get out of here…. I'm going to finish packing some supplies. Then I want you to be ready to leave." Ray spoke in a calm voice.

Clementine nodded.

"Stay here, sweetie…" Ray said to the child.

Clementine frowned. She didn't want to be left alone.

Ray noticed her reaction. "I'll be as quick as possible." He reassured the child.

Clementine sighed but nodded. She just had to trust him.

Without another word, Ray left the room.

Looking in the pantry, he found a burlap sack and began filling it with whatever food he could find. After that he gathered up some medical supplies, and anything else he figured would be useful.

He continued his pack until he heard a sound. Ray nearly froze in place as he glimpsed a man through the window. "Damn it!" They shouldn't have come back so fast…

He needed to get Clementine and they needed to get out of there.

Ray quickly ran towards the room Clementine was in.

The child looked towards the man. "Ray? What's going on?"

"They're back." Ray simply said.

"W-What?" Clementine stammered.

Ray didn't respond. He scooped the child into his arms. Clementine gave a flinch, but she didn't protest. Ray made his way into the hallway.

The two froze as they heard the front door open.

Ray noticed Clementine's fearful expression. He needed a plan…

"It's alright… I need you to do me a favor, okay?" Ray said gently, placing the child down.

"Okay…" Clementine agreed.

"We're gonna leave." Ray said. "You gotta listen to me… You hide in the closet. Don't come out until I call your name. Understand?"

Clementine frowned at that, glancing to the nearby closet Ray was talking about. "The closet?"

"Yeah, sweetie…" Ray said.

Clementine didn't like the thought of being in a closet. She remembered how that crazy man she spoke to on the radio.

"Please, Clem…" Ray said to her. "I need you to do this. I'll get Lance out of here and then we can leave…"

"Promise?" Clementine asked.

"I promise…" Ray said.

"…Okay, Ray…" Clementine said.

"Thank you…" Ray replied.

He quickly led the child towards the closet. Opening the door, he let the girl crawl inside.

"I'll be right back." Ray whispered to her.

Clementine nodded, trying her best to be brave.

Ray shut the door and started down the stairs. He noticed Lance sitting on the couch.

"Back so soon?" Ray asked.

"Yeah… How's the kid?" Lance asked.

Ray shrugged. "I think she's asleep…"

Lance raised a brow. "You think? Weren't you just upstairs with her?"

"I was using the bathroom…" Ray lied.

"Whatever…" Lance said. "Guess it's time for her to wake up…"

Ray watched as the older man stood. Ray felt nervous as the other man made his way upstairs.

After a few moments, Lance returned wearing a frown. "Where is she?"

Ray tried his best to play dumb. "What?"

Lance shot him a dark look. "The kid. Where the fuck is she?"

"I thought she was asleep…" Ray said.

Lance glared harder, "The room's empty…"

"But-" Ray was interrupted by a punch to the face. He stumbled slightly from the hit, placing a hand on his sore cheek. Before he could register what had just happened, he felt another punch in the gut.

Ray staggered back before he could hit him again. Then he managed to block another hit.

Lance let out a groan. "All you had to do was watch her! You can't do anything right."

Ray didn't offer a response.

Lance scoffed before heading for the front door.

Ray assumed he was going to look for Clementine. He waited until the man was gone, and a couple moments after that to be safe.

* * *

Over the sound of her own heartbeat, Clementine could hear the awful commotion downstairs. She was so scared; she could barely breathe.

Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest when the closet door opened. She clenched her eyes shut, terrified that she had been caught.

Clementine flinched as she felt someone suddenly touch her. "NO! NO! Nooo!" She yelped in fear.

"Hey, hey. It's me." Ray spoke.

For a moment the child was so stunned by Ray's sudden appearance, that all she could do was sit there immobile.

"Ray?" Clementine asked, slowly coming back to reality.

"Yeah. Come on, Clem. Let's get out of here." Ray said, offering the girl his hand.

Clementine hesitantly accepted Ray's hand and the man helped the child to her feet.

"You're hurt…" Clementine said, noticing the bruise on Ray's cheek.

"I'm fine, Clem." Ray said.

Clementine shook her head. "Don't lie...You got hurt, because of me."

"It's not your fault, Clementine." Ray said. He didn't want the child to worry about him. "Come on. We gotta go before they come back."

Clementine nodded, walking from the closet. "My clothes..." She whispered, looking down at what she was wearing.

Ray took a look at her, noticing that she was wearing nothing, but a dirty, oversized t-shirt. "Where are they?"

"I... I don't know." Clementine said.

"Okay..." He sighed. "Wait here."

He searched around for the child's clothes, but was unable to find them. He started to rummage through his bag, finding a clean sweater for her to wear. It was big, but it would be better than nothing and at least she'd be warmer.

He returned to the injured child and offered her the sweater. "Here."

"Where are my clothes?" Clementine asked.

"I couldn't find them." Ray replied.

"Oh..." Clementine frowned. She accepted the sweater.

"Hurry up and get dressed. Make it quick." Ray ordered.

Clementine nodded in response.

He walked out the room, grabbing the girl's shoes from the bedroom she had been trapped in. He headed downstairs and waited for her to come down as well.

"Ray?" Her small voice called after a few moments.

"I'm down here." Ray called back.

She made her way down the steps and over to him.

He glanced out the window. "Come on, Clem. We gotta go."

"Yeah, I know. My legs hurt." Clementine said. Her legs felt as if they would give out any minute.

Ray reached out to help the girl but Clementine flinched.

"Clem…" He tried to touch her again but she jerked away.

"No!" Clementine cried out, stumbling backwards.

"Clem...I'm going to carry you." Ray said. "You can't walk."

"I can…" Clementine claimed. "I can handle it…"

"We gotta get out of here. It'll be faster if I carry you." Ray said.

Clementine shook her head. "No…"

Ray sighed. She was his main priority. Ignoring her protest, he scooped her into his arms and darted for the back door.

"No! No! NO!" The child started to panic.

"Shh… Shhh. It's okay, Clem." Ray said in a soothing voice. "Please. It's me, Ray. I'd never hurt you."

Clementine could feel her heart pounding, but forced herself to calm down. Ray would never hurt her… He was helping her…

Ray didn't slow down until they had made a good distance away from the house.

* * *

After an hour or so, Ray figured they were safe. When he finally stopped, Clementine was asleep.

Ray took a seat on a log. He took the time to think about what their next move was going to be.

Another hour passed before the child in his arms gave a slight stir. Ray decided he should wake her so she could eat.

He lightly nudged the sleeping girl. "Sweetie, it's time to wake up."

Clementine groaned in response. "Is it morning time?" She asked, opening her eyes.

"I just wanted you to eat something." Ray explained.

"Okay…" Clementine yawned, shifting in Ray's arms.

Ray set the little girl on the ground and dug through his bag. Pulling out a can of soup, he used a knife to open it before he offered it to the child.

Clementine ate in silence before offering the rest of the can's contents to Ray. The man accepted the food and started eating.

"It's cold." Clementine muttered, giving a small shiver.

"…Hopefully we'll find some place warmer soon." Ray said.

"Yeah…" Clementine said.

"I guess we can camp here for the night." Ray suggested.

"Okay." Clementine agreed. "Sounds good."

Ray gave they child a small smile.

Clementine looked around the area. "We're by the river." She noted.

"Yeah… We are." Ray nodded.

"Maybe we can look for Christa." Clementine said.

"Who's Christa?" Ray inquired.

"She's my friend. We got separated by those bad guys. The ones who hurt me…" Clementine told him.

"I don't know, Clem…" He didn't want to disappoint the child, but there was no point in getting her hopes up if her friend was dead.

"Please…?" Clementine asked. "She's probably looking for me now…"

"How do we know she's still alive?" Ray questioned.

Clementine paused for a moment, a frown on her lips. "They said they killed her… But Christa's strong…. She won't die that easily."

Ray was silent for a moment before speaking, "I'll think about it, Clem."

"Okay. I guess that's better than a no…" Clementine said.

The two fell silent again before Clementine asked. "So what did you do before all this?"

"Was in the military. Didn't last long though. My mom got sick and I headed back home… By time I got there it was too late." Ray informed the child.

"I'm sorry…." Clementine said.

"Don't worry about it…" Ray muttered before asking, "What about your family? What happened to your parents?"

Clementine lowered her head. "They went on vacation and left me with a babysitter… They said they would come back, but they never did…" Clementine said. "I miss them…"

"I bet…." Ray sighed. "So have you been with Christa this whole time?"

Clementine shook her head. "This man found me… At the beginning of all this, hiding in my treehouse. He took me with him… Protected me. We met up with other survivors and tried to make this work, but eventually everything fell apart…" Clementine explained. "The man's name was Lee. He's the reason I'm alive today. He taught me how to survive."

"Well, Lee did a pretty good job then." Ray said.

A small smile grazed her lips, "Thanks…"

"…What happened to him…?" Ray was hesitant to ask the question.

"He got bit… And I had to shoot him…" Clementine said, fighting back tears at the thought. "It was all my fault."

"No," Ray shook his head. "Don't say that."

"It's my fault. He's dead because of me."

"It's not your fault." Ray said. "These things just happen..."

"Why? Why do bad things have to happen?" Clementine asked sadly.

Ray didn't have a good answer for that. "I don't know, sweetheart…"

* * *

The rest of the day flew by after that and nighttime came.

Clementine was shivering from cold. Ray felt awful that he had nothing to keep her warm.

The girl distracted herself from the chill of the night by asking Ray questions.

"Ray?" She called.

"Yeah, Clem?" Ray replied.

"Did you have any brothers or sisters?" Clementine asked.

"Why do you ask?" Ray questioned back.

Clementine shrugged. "I... just want to know."

"Yeah." Ray smiled. "I had a little sister."

"What was her name?" Clementine wondered.

"Her name was Kayla." Ray said. "My mom would get sick easily so I was always taking care of her."

"What about your dad?" Clementine asked.

"We didn't have the same fathers… Believe it or not, that asshole, Lance is her father…" Ray said.

Clementine didn't want to think about those bad people… "What happened to her?"

Ray went silent.

"Ray?" Clementine called.

"Time for bed, Clem…" He said, deciding they talked enough for the night.

Clementine wasn't going to push it. "Okay…"

The girl closed her eyes and eventually the child managed to fall asleep.

Ray sat up for the remainder of the night, trying to forget unpleasant memories of his unfortunate past.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Thanks to gaara king of the sand for the help.**_

* * *

Clementine felt herself being pulled from a dreamless sleep, waking up she was startled to find something warm and wet on her face. The girl panicked for a moment, opening her eyes to see a dog… A stray dog was licking her face.

With her heart beating rapidly, the child pushed the dog away.

The animal let out a growl, causing Clementine to send it a fearful look.

The child forced herself into sitting position, ignoring the painful throbbing in between her legs. "Yuck…" Clementine muttered, wiping the dog's saliva from her face.

Several moments passed with the dog just staring at her. Clementine felt uneasy as she looked at the dog.

She heard the dog let out another growl and Clementine lowered her hands, "It's okay, boy…" Her mother had never been fond of dogs, especially big dogs. Clementine could now tell why, "It's okay…"

The dog barked at her.

Clementine tried not to be nervous. Ray was sleeping beside her; she'd wake him up if anything happened. "Come here, boy…" She motioned the dog over.

The child was surprised when the dog trotted towards her. Taking a seat in front of her, and wagging its tail. Clementine took the opportunity to check the dog's collar reading out loud, "Sam… Well, nice to meet you, Sam." Clementine smiled at the dog.

The dog let out whine, giving the child a nudge as if wanting her to get up.

"I can't… I'm hurt…" Clementine said.

The dog continued to whine a bit more.

Clementine furrowed her brows, "What's wrong, boy?"

The dog gave the girl another nudge.

"I know… You're hungry?" Clementine said after a moment. "Am I right? Do you want some food?"

The dog let out a tiny bark in response.

"I'll take that as a yes." Clementine said.

Clementine gave Ray a shake.

Ray let out a groan, batting her hand away.

"Ray, wake up." Clementine called.

"Go to sleep, Kayla." Ray muttered.

"It's Clementine." Clementine corrected with a frown.

"Shit..." Ray said, "Sorry... Go to sleep, Clem."

"Ray..." Clementine whined a bit. "Wake up...

"No..."

"But we're hungry." Clementine said.

"Who?" Ray asked.

"Sam and I."

Ray let out a sigh. "There's food in the bag."

"Okay." Clementine said.

Ray was ready to fall back to sleep when realization dawn on him. Clementine had said "we're", who was she taking about? Who was Sam?

Ray's eyes snapped open and he looked to find the girl sitting up, digging through a bag, a dog was beside her.

"Clem..." He called.

"You're awake." The child beamed.

"Yeah..." Ray nodded. "Where did the dog come from?"

"I don't know. He was here when I woke up." Clementine said.

"Don't feed the dog." Ray said.

Clementine cocked a brow, "Why not?"

"Just don't. He didn't bite you or scratch you or anything?" Ray asked.

Clementine shook her head. "No..."

"Good." Ray said.

"Sam's hungry. Can't I feed him?" Clementine pleaded.

"No."

"Why can't I?" Clementine asked.

"I don't want him biting you. He might have rabies or something." Ray replied.

"He already licked my face." Clementine stated.

Ray groaned, "Why would you let him do that?"

"I didn't. He was doing it when I woke up." Clementine said.

Ray rolled his eyes, "Alright… It's fine. Even if he has rabies, you can't get it unless he broke skin."

Clementine watched as Ray stood up and started packing their supplies.

"What are you doing?" Clementine asked.

"We need to get moving, sweetie." Ray told the child.

"Okay…Can you open this?" Clementine held out the can.

Ray looked to the young girl. "Don't feed that dog."

"…Okay." Clementine mumbled.

Ray took the can from the child and used a knife to open it. "Alright…" He handed the can back to her. "I'm going to the bathroom."

Clementine nodded in response, eating from the can.

"You stay put." Ray said.

"I will." Clementine said.

"Good." Ray said before walking away.

Clementine continued to eat out of the can.

Sam started to whine, sitting down in front of the child.

She looked to the dog with a tiny frown. "It's okay, boy. I know you're hungry." Clementine glanced around before digging into the can. "Here you go." She held the food out to the dog and flinched when Sam nipped her hand. "Ow!"

Sam quickly ate the food the child had dropped before sitting up and waiting for more.

Clementine clutched the can possessively, "No. You bit me!"

The dog seemed to understand that the girl was no longer sharing, as he let out a growl.

"I'll give you whatever's left, okay?" Clementine said.

The dog started to growl more, Clementine's eyes grew wide and fearful.

Before she could react, the dog jumped up and bit her.

Clementine let out a pained yell. She felt the bite puncture the skin of her arm. She tried to yank away, but the dog pulled her to the group.

The dog now had her pinned to the ground. Clementine moved her head just in time to avoid being bitten in the neck, bringing her arm up to protect herself, which only caused the dog to further injure her arm.

* * *

Ray couldn't help but wonder what he had gotten into. He never expected to be taking care of a kid. Not after losing his sister.

Clementine was a sweet kid, and he only hoped he could do a better job at protecting her than his sister. Which meant he needed to find some place safe to go. Clementine was still in rough shape, he needed to get the child out of the cold.

A high pitch yell caught his attention. He sped back to the camp and noticed Clementine was on the ground, the dog viciously attacking the girl.

Ray sprinted over and grabbed the dog's collar, pulling back hard to get the dog off the child.

The dog growled, breaking from his grip.

Ray saw the animal turn towards Clementine, who hadn't moved from the ground.

Quickly, he reached for his gun. Giving the animal no chance to move any closer to the child, he pulled the trigger.

Lowering his weapon, Ray made his way over to Clementine. "Clem? Are you okay?"

She wouldn't respond to anything. She was in a daze. He wasn't surprised. The child was severely hurt.

Ray swore, grabbing the girl's arm, he examined it. "It's okay. You're okay..."

He dug through his bag, finding some rags. Unfortunately, he had nothing to clean the girl's wound with, he could only hope he could find a clean place to treat her before it got infected.

Using the rags, he wrapped them around Clementine's arm, trying to stop the bleeding. It didn't stop, the injury was far too deep.

"Shit..." Ray pulled the whimpering child into his arms, "You're going to be okay. I need you to stay awake, alright."

The child finally responded with a tiny nod.

"Good girl." Ray said. He was sure that gunshot would bring walkers, which meant they needed to get moving.

Grabbing his bag, he started walking. Clementine was barely conscious; Ray knew the odds didn't look too good for the kid.

They weren't far from the river, if the water was clean enough, he could at least clean the girl's wound there.

He continued walking, hearing the child he was holding letting out tiny whimpers. He made his way down a well-worn trail until he eventually came to a river's edge.

"Clementine, you awake?" Ray called to the young girl. He felt the child give a nod against his shoulder.

"H-Hurts…" Clementine groaned whimpered out.

"I know, Clem." Ray said. "I'm going to try to stop the bleeding."

"Okay…" Clementine muttered.

Ray gently placed the child on the ground and knelt beside her. "You're going to be okay." He started to apply pressure to the girl's arm.

Clementine let out a couple pained sounds.

"You two need any help?" Came an accented voice.

Ray jumped and turned at the sudden voice. He was surprised to see two men. One was an older man, wearing a green shirt. The other was a young man who appeared to be in his twenties.

"We don't want any trouble." Ray said.

"Neither do we." The guy with the southern accent said.

"Your girl doesn't look too good…" The older man noted.

"She's hurt pretty bad." Ray admitted.

"Was she bit?" The younger male asked.

"No… Not by a walker anyway." Ray replied.

"What do you mean?" The older man asked.

"She was bit by a dog." Ray said.

"You really expect us to believe that?" The younger man huffed.

"What reason would I have to lie?" Ray asked. "She was bit by a dog. Damn thing attacked her. I killed it."

"What?" The younger man gasped. "Why?"

"What would you have done?" The older man asked.

"I… I don't know…" The younger man replied.

"It would've killed her." Ray defended.

"Still, you don't kill dogs." The younger man said.

Ray sighed in response.

"Mind if I take a look at her?" The older man asked.

"Uh… Sure…" Ray said.

"Hey, watch yourself." The younger man said.

"Calm your ass down, Luke." The older man said. He moved to kneel in front of Clementine. "Hey there, sweetie. My name's Pete. Can I take a look at your arm?"

Clementine gave a weak nod.

Pete carefully rolled the girl's sleeve up, causing her to wince. Removing the bloody rags, he examined her arm.

The child drew her eyes tightly shut.

"So… Was it a dog?" Luke asked.

"Could be a dog... Hard to tell." Pete said. "Carlos would know."

Luke shook his head. "We can't bring her back if she's bit." Luke protested.

"I ain't willing to leave a little girl out in the woods to die." Pete said. "Not when we have a doctor with us that can make a call."

Clementine let out a whimper. "R-Ray?"

"I'm right here, Clem." Ray said.

"Ray, is it?" Pete asked.

"Yeah…" Ray confirmed.

"Sorry for the lack of proper introduction. I'm Pete and this here's Luke." Pete said.

"Well… you know my name… The girl's name is Clementine." Ray said.

"A lot of blood on her for just a dog bit…" Luke pointed out, noticing the dry blood on the child's legs. "Something happen?"

"It's… It's been a rough few days." Ray replied.

"I'm sure..." Pete said, a suspicious look on his face. "Anyway, we have a doctor, we can have him take a look at her, if you're willing to come back to our cabin."

"I'd really appreciate that." Ray said, picking Clementine up.

"Alright, let's get going." Pete said.

Luke frowned, "Nick's not going to like this… Not after what happened to-"

"You don't have to remind me of that, boy." Pete said.

"Right. Sorry sir." Luke said.

Silence fell over the two before Pete gave Luke a light pat on the shoulder.

"Come on." Pete said.

* * *

Pete and Luke led Ray through the woods and soon enough they had arrived at a cabin.

Ray felt hesitant to enter the cabin, but he knew he didn't have many options. They claimed to have a doctor, and if that was true, it was the best chance at getting help for Clementine.

The girl had passed out, and had been unresponsive for the entire walk to the cabin.

They entered the cabin through the front door and immediately, Ray felt uneasy.

A few people, who had once been seated on the couch, looked to them as they entered.

"Who the hell are they?" A man with a cap demanded.

"Calm down, Nick." Pete said.

"We ran into these two by the river... The girl is injured." Luke explained.

"And so you brought her here? Why, so she could turn in the cabin?" A pregnant woman asked, looking annoyed.

"Was she bit by a lurker?" A big man asked.

"No... She was bit by a dog." Ray answered.

"Yeah, right." Nick scoffed.

"Yeah. That's complete and utter bullshit." The pregnant woman said.

"Now hold on, Rebecca. We can't just jump to conclusion. This is a child we're talking about." Pete said.

"I'm going to go get Carlos." Luke informed.

Pete nodded.

"For all we know, they could be working for Carver." Rebecca said.

"I don't even know who that is." Ray spoke up.

"Bullshit." Nick said.

Ray shot him a glare before looking to Rebecca, "You're telling me you're willing to let a little girl bleed to death?"

"Better her than my family." Rebecca said.

"Right." Nick agreed.

"Look... We won't even stay. I just want someone to treat her arm..." Ray said. "She lost a lot of blood…"

"And then you'll run off to report to Carver, right?" Rebecca grumbled, "Tell him where we are…"

"I already told you, I have no clue who Carver is." Ray sighed.

"Let me take a look." Came another voice.

Ray turned to see another man. He must have been the doctor.

"Place her on the couch." The doctor said.

Ray nodded and set the young girl on the couch.

"Poor thing ain't even dressed right... She must of been freezing out there." The big man spoke up.

"Not our problem..." Rebecca said.

"But Bec..." The man started to protest.

Rebecca cut him off, "She's not our problem, Alvin."

Alvin fell silent after that.

"This isn't how we do things man… When you're bit, you get put down." Nick said. "I'm not going through this again."

"No one's suggesting that." Luke said.

"We could take her arm off." Pete suggested.

"What?" Ray asked, not sure he had heard right.

"I know that worked for a cousin out in Ainsworth. We could try that." Pete said.

"It won't do any good. You'll just be making it worse for the girl." Rebecca said.

"That's crazy. No one's going to volunteer to do that." Alvin said.

"I would. If it means saving her life." Pete said.

"She was bit by a dog, not a walker. Taking her arm off won't do shit, but hurt her more." Ray said. "I'm not letting that happen."

Carlos continued to examine the child's arm. "She's gonna need stitches.

"I figured..." Ray said.

"So, wait... It's not a lurker bite?" Nick asked.

"Judging by the teeth marks, it was an animal..." Carlos said before looking to Ray, "Quite a lot of bruises on the child..."

Ray didn't respond.

"Just saying... I know kids play rough, but she couldn't have done this to herself." Carlos said.

Ray still said nothing.

The doctor turned back to the unconscious child. "She has a fever… Not too high, after this we'll just let her rest a bit."

Clementine started to stir a bit. The child opened her eyes and grew nervous upon seeing Carlos, "R-Ray?"

"It's alright... He's a doctor. He's going to fix your arm." Ray reassured the girl.

"Okay..." Clementine said.

Carlos took a cloth, soaked it a peroxide and used it to clean the girl's wound.

"It hurts!" Clementine cried out.

"I have to clean it, otherwise it'll get infected." The doctor replied, unmoved by her obvious pain. Once he was done, he placed the rag down.

Carlos reached into his medical supply bag, "I need you to hold her down." He said as he pulled out a needle and began threading it.

"What?" Ray asked.

"She's going to struggle; we have nothing to numb the pain. Hold her down." Carlos said.

Clementine shook her head, "No! No! Don't! Don't do it!"

"It's okay, Clem…" Ray said, he gently pinned the child down.

Clementine's eyes grew wide and she panicked "No! No, don't hurt me!"

"Keep her still." Carlos ordered.

"It's alright, Clementine. It's just me. It's Ray." Ray spoke in a kind voice, trying to calm the girl.

Carlos started to stitch the child's arm while Ray kept her restrained. The girl struggled and screamed, eventually breaking into tears.

Ray felt horrible.

After several excruciating moments Carlos finished.

"That should do it..." Carlos said, standing up. "We have running water. You can get her cleaned up and I'll see if my daughter has anything small enough for her to wear."

"I really appreciate the help." Ray said.

"Right..." Carlos responded before grabbing his supply bag and heading up the stairs.

"Rebecca, right?" Ray looked to the woman.

Rebecca looked a bit surprised, "What is it?"

"I'm sorry to ask this, but do you think you can help her get cleaned up?" Ray asked.

"W-What?" Clementine stammered. "No. I can do it myself."

"You can barely walk, Clem." Ray pointed out.

Clementine frowned, "But-"

"Please?" Ray asked Rebecca, cutting off Clementine's protest.

"...Sure..." Rebecca said.

"Thank you." Ray said.

"You're welcome…" Rebecca replied.

* * *

Despite Clementine's protest, Ray brought the child upstairs to the bathroom, leaving her with Rebecca.

Rebecca shut the door and ran some bath water, turning it off once it was done.

"Don't think this means you're staying." Rebecca said to the child.

Clementine glanced to the woman, a frown on her lips. "I need to find my friend anyway…"

"Good. I hope you two leave soon." Rebecca said.

Clementine didn't respond.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Rebecca asked after a few moments, "Water's ran, get in the damn bath."

Clementine looked to the water, swallowing nervously.

"What's the problem?" Rebecca questioned.

Clementine shook herself out of her trance.

Rebecca quirked a brow, "You going to get in the tub or what?"

Clementine hesitated for a moment before taking off the sweater she was wearing.

Rebecca was surprised to see that was the child's only article of clothing, and even more surprised by all the marks that covered the girl's body. "What happened?"

"What?" Clementine asked back.

"How'd you get all those marks…?" Rebecca asked.

Clementine gave a shrug.

"You do know." Rebecca said. "What happened?"

Clementine didn't say anything as she climbed into the bathtub. Silently, she started cleaning herself.

Rebecca was horrified as the water quickly turned red from dry blood on the child's legs. "What the hell happened?"

"Nothing…" Clementine said.

Rebecca swore, realizing something awful had happened to the little girl, "Let me help you."

"No! No, I can do it…" Clementine said, scrubbing herself harder with the rag until her skin turned red.

"Stop it. I'm not going to hurt you, sweetie. Just let me help you." Rebecca said.

"No. No! I'm dirty! I want to be clean!" Clementine whimpered.

"You'll be clean. I'm going to make sure you get nice and clean." Rebecca grabbed the child in an almost painful grip.

Clementine was trembling, trying to scramble away.

"It's okay. Everything's alright, honey." Rebecca said in a soothing voice, coaxing the child to sit still so she could wash her.

Clementine let the woman take over cleaning her up.

Rebecca used the rag to wash away the blood on and in between the child's legs, noticing how tense Clementine had become. She carefully washed the girl's arms, back, and the rest of her body.

Clementine was calmer now as the woman washed her hair. The child shut her eyes to protect them from the stinging water as Rebecca rinsed the soap from her hair. The woman then took the rag and gently washed the young girl's face.

"There you go." Rebecca said. "You're all clean."

"Thank you…" Clementine said hoarsely.

"Now, let's get you some clean clothes to wear." Rebecca said.

"Okay…" Clementine mumbled.

The woman helped the child out of the tub and wrapped her in a towel. "Stay here. I'll see if Carlos found you any clothes."

Clementine shook her head. "Don't go…"

"You don't want to go out there, baby… Not without any clothes."

"Don't leave me in here… Please?" Clementine didn't like the thought of being alone in the room, all she could think was she'd somehow be trapped inside if that happened...

"Okay… We'll go to my room…" Rebecca said.

Making sure the girl was completely covered with the towel, Rebecca opened the bathroom door and led the child down the hall. The woman opened the door to her bedroom and ushered the child inside.

"Alright… Let's see if we can find you something to wear…" Rebecca said.

"It's cold…" Clementine complained as she dried herself with the towel.

"I know… But, we'll fix that in a minute." Rebecca told her.

Clementine was surprised that the woman was suddenly being so kind to her. She wondered what had changed.

Rebecca rummaged through some clothes, finding a large t-shirt, she offered it to the child. "Put this on for now… I don't think Alvin will mind."

Clementine accepted the shirt, putting it on.

"How about we brush your hair?" Rebecca suggested, grabbing a hairbrush and taking a seat on the bed.

"Alright… Thank you." Clementine said. She sat beside the woman, letting her brush her hair.

"So… How long have you and Ray known each other?" Rebecca asked.

"A few weeks…" Clementine said.

"Really?" Rebecca was surprised to hear that.

"Yeah…" Clementine said.

"Has he… Has he ever hurt you?" Rebecca asked.

"No…" Clementine replied.

"You sure?" Rebecca questioned, not believing the girl.

"Yeah. He's nice to me." Clementine answered.

Rebecca hummed at that. "Alright, your hair's all done."

"Thank you." Clementine said, placing her hat onto her head.

Rebecca nodded. "Come on, let's head downstairs, I'm sure you're hungry."

"I'm starving." Clementine said.

"I bet..." Rebecca said. Taking the child's hand, the two left the room.

Rebecca decided she needed to have a word with the group. Something had happened to Clementine and something didn't seem right with Ray…


	5. Chapter 5

_**Thanks to gaara king of the sand for the help.**_

* * *

Rebecca led the child downstairs, clutching the girl's hand. She walked slowly, realizing the child was struggling with walking.

Clementine was still surprised by the woman's sudden kindness towards her. The woman had seemed so cruel before, she had made it obvious that she wanted Clementine and Ray gone. Yet here she was now, holding her hand. Clementine couldn't help but wonder what had changed.

The girl by no mean was going to complain about Rebecca's change in attitude, she preferred the kindness over the harshness from earlier.

They entered the living room, where Ray was sitting with some of the other group members.

Ray offered Clementine a small smile, "Hey kiddo."

"Hey." Clementine returned the smile.

"Thanks again for getting her cleaned up." Ray said to Rebecca.

The woman only gave a nod in response. She tugged Clementine's hand, pulling her to the kitchen. Clementine was even more confused. Rebecca still appeared to be upset with Ray for some reason.

Rebecca brought the child to the table, helping the girl take a seat.

"Thank you." Clementine smiled.

"Of course, sweetie." Rebecca said kindly. "Let me get you some food."

The girl nodded in response and Rebecca headed over to one of the cabinets, grabbing a bowl she used a spoon to fill it with some oatmeal, that the group had made earlier that day.

The two looked over as the kitchen door opened and Carlos entered the room, carrying a medical bag.

"Everything alright?" Rebecca asked him.

"I need to bandage her arm." Carlos replied.

"You can do that after she eats." Rebecca replied.

The man gave a nod. "Okay."

Rebecca paused for a moment. "We need to talk."

"What about?" Carlos inquired.

"I'll tell you later… I'm sure you have a hunch." Rebecca said. "The group needs to talk."

"We'll call a house meeting…" Carlos said.

"Alright…" Rebecca walked over to where Clementine was seated, she placed the bowl down in front of the little girl.

Clementine smiled. "Thanks."

Rebecca took a seat beside her. "After you finish your food, you can finally meet Sarah."

Carlos frowned, he didn't know if he could trust the girl around his daughter yet. "What?"

"They can play together while us adults talk." Rebecca said. "We need to talk. It's important."

Carlos could tell the woman was serious by her voice. "Fine…"

"Is she nice?" Clementine suddenly asked.

"What?" Rebecca asked.

"Sarah… Is she nice?" Clementine asked.

"Very nice." Rebecca said.

"That's not good. Being nice gets you killed." Clementine said.

Rebecca and Carlos both frowned at that.

"Honey, don't talk like that." Rebecca said gently.

"Why?" Clementine asked. "It's true."

Rebecca and Carlos exchanged looks.

"She has a few books that you might want to look at. Maybe she'll read to you." Carlos spoke up.

"Okay…" Clementine said.

Clementine ate until she felt full. It had been so long since she had a nice meal.

"Do you want me to wash the dishes?" The child asked, gesturing to the sink full of dishes.

"No thanks, sweetie." Rebecca said. "We're going to let you play before bed."

Clementine furrowed her brows. "I don't want to play."

"Why not?" Carlos asked.

Clementine shrugged. She hadn't played in years, there was no point in playing now.

"Well, what would you like to do?" Rebecca asked the girl.

"Umm… I don't know." Clementine said.

"Would you like to draw?" Rebecca asked.

"I would like that…" Clementine agreed. She hadn't drawn for a long time. Back when she was younger, it was one of her favorite things to do.

"Sarah would probably want to draw with you. I'm sure she has some paper." Rebecca said.

"Okay." Clementine said.

"Can Carlos take you upstairs?" Rebecca asked the child.

Clementine frowned. She looked to the man before looking back at Rebecca.

"It's okay. He's just going to take you upstairs so you can draw." Rebecca reassured the child.

Clementine still seemed hesitant but she nodded. "Okay…"

Carlos made his way over to the child. "Let me bandage your arm before we head upstairs.

"Okay. Thanks." Clementine said quietly.

Carlos opened his medical bag, that he had brought with him. He started to bandage the child's arm. Clementine winced every so often.

"All done." Carlos said. "Let's get you upstairs."

The man picked the young girl up, feeling the child go tense.

Clementine was trembling a bit when he touched her.

Carlos carried the girl out of the kitchen.

Ray raised a brow upon spotting them. "Clementine? You okay?"

"Yeah." Clementine said. "I'm going to draw, okay?"

"Alright, sweetie." Ray said.

Clementine gave a tiny smile, "I'll make you a picture."

"Sounds good, Clem." Ray told her.

Carlos carried the child upstairs, giving a knock Sarah's bedroom door.

"Come in." Came a voice from inside.

Carlos opened the door.

"Who's that?" Asked a teen girl, Clementine figured that was Sarah.

"This is Clementine." Carlos said to the girl. "Do you mind playing with her?"

"She wants to play with me?" Sarah seemed surprised to her that.

"Can we draw?" Clementine asked.

The teen gave a smile. "Of course."

Carlos set the young child down on the bed.

Sarah placed her book down, she got up and started searching for paper.

"Are you two alright here?" Carlos asked the children.

"Yeah, dad." Sarah said.

Clementine gave a nod as well.

"Alright. I'll be downstairs if you need anything." With that, the man left the room.

Clementine sat on the bed silently. She felt anxious just sitting there. She looked to the door, something told her to make sure it wasn't locked. She was so terrified about being trapped in a room. The girl climbed of the bed, ready to try the door when Sarah returned.

"Okay. I got some paper and some colored pencils." Sarah said. She put the objects on the bed before sitting down. She looked to Clementine, raising a brow. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." Clementine went back to the bed, taking a seat.

The two girls started drawing.

"How old are you?" Sarah asked.

"Eleven…" Clementine said. "What about you?"

"I'm fifteen." Sarah said. The teen offered Clementine a smile. "We're friends."

Clementine paused for a moment. "Huh?"

"We can be best friends—I haven't met another girl close to my age since way before. It's hard to be the only girl, you know? Rebecca is okay, but she's old. And that's it." Sarah said. "And if her baby is a girl it'll be FOREVER before she's old enough to, like, be my friend. And then I'll be super old."

"Yes, we're friends." Clementine said.

"Promise?" Sarah asked. "It's important. Friends have to trust each other no matter what. Do you promise or not?"

"I promise." Clementine said.

"Me too." Sarah smiled, raising her pinky. "Friends."

Clementine locked her pinky with the older girl's.

* * *

"All those scars, that blood... It's not normal." Rebecca said.

"What are you saying, Bec?" Alvin asked.

"When I bathed that poor child the tub was full of blood." Rebecca said. "There's some real abuse there."

"So, what do we do?" Luke asked. "If she's been abuse… we have to do something to help her."

"It's obvious that this child was abused." Carlos said.

Rebecca shot Ray a look, "Do you have anything to say for yourself?

"What?" Ray asked.

"Don't play dumb. What did you do to that little girl?" Rebecca asked.

"Nothing. I haven't done a thing." Ray said.

"I find that hard to believe." Rebecca replied.

"Now hold on. We need to give him a chance to explain." Pete said.

Rebecca shook her head. "Explain what? How he used a child for his own sexual gratification?"

"What are you saying?" Nick asked, eyes wide.

"I'm saying the girl was most likely raped, which explains the blood, her reaction, and her lack of clothing." Rebecca said.

"Damn…" Nick mumbled.

"I did not hurt that child. I would never touch a kid." Ray said. "Look, you've made it obvious you don't want us here. We're not going to stay."

"I think it would be in the child's best interest to stay." Carlos said.

"I agree. The girl is not going with you." Rebecca agreed.

"Wait, you guys can't do that." Alvin cut in.

"Alvin, you're defending a pedophile!" Rebecca snapped.

"No, I'm not." Alvin said. "But you guys are jumping to conclusions. If he did something to the kid, by all means throw him out, but we have no proof."

"Did you look at the girl?" Rebecca asked. "We all saw the bruises."

"But he hasn't even had the chance to explain himself." Alvin said.

"Her condition explains itself." Rebecca insisted.

* * *

Clementine continued her drawing, while Sarah started reading a book again. She could hear voices through the door, although they were too muffled to make out what they were saying.

"Sounds like they're arguing again…" Sarah sighed.

"What about?" Clementine asked.

"I don't know." Sarah said. "They just argue sometimes. By sometimes... I mean a lot."

Clementine frowned at that. She placed down her pencil, getting to her feet. She knew eavesdropping was wrong, but she wanted to hear what was being said.

Sarah sent her a confused look as the child made her way to the door. "Clem?"

"Shh…." Clementine shushed her.

"You shouldn't do that." Sarah said.

"I want to hear." Clementine said.

Pressing her ear against the door didn't help much. Clementine turned the knob opening the door and stepping into the hallway.

Sarah watched her new friend, looking worried. She thought the younger girl might get in trouble.

Clementine moved close to the stairs and she was finally able to make out the conversation.

"I'm not going to let you take that child out there." Rebecca said.

Clementine's eyes widened. They were talking about her?

"I think Clementine should have a say." Ray replied.

"You probably brainwashed the kid." Rebecca said.

"I don't know… If she stays here we have another mouth to feed." Nick said. He seemed torn on how to feel, he was clearly disturbed about what had happened to Clementine.

"It's safer for her to be here…" Carlos said.

"That's true." Luke said. "But we can't separate her from Ray. He's been taking care of here."

"He needs to leave." Rebecca said.

"I'm not going anywhere without Clem." Ray said.

"You don't have a choice." Rebecca said.

"NO!" Clementine shouted. The child rushed downstairs. She ran towards Ray, tossing herself into his arms. "Don't let them take me! Please!" She begged, clinging to the man.

"I'm not, Clem." Ray said.

"I want to stay with you! Please…" Clementine said. "Don't let them take me! Don't let them take me!" She didn't care how nice these people seemed, Christa had told her not to trust people She knew better than that.

"We're not." Pete said to the girl.

"Promise?" Clementine whimpered.

"We promise, kiddo." Luke said.

Clementine sighed in relief. "Thank you."

Still, it didn't stop her from clinging to Ray.

"How's your picture coming along?" Ray asked the child, changing her focus onto a lighter subject.

"I finished it." Clementine said. "Do you want it?"

"Sure, sweetie." Ray gave her a pat on the head. "But right now, I think we should get you to sleep."

"Okay…" Clementine said.

"You can stay with Sarah for the night." Carlos said. "The bed is large enough."

"I don't like beds. I want to stay with Ray." Clementine replied.

"Ray's not going anywhere, Clem." Luke said.

Clementine looked to Ray.

"He's right, Clementine. I'm not going anywhere." Ray promised the girl. "Come on, let's get some rest."

Clementine nodded, finally releasing her tight grip from Ray's shirt.

"Mind if we take the couch?" Ray asked.

"Make yourselves comfortable." Pete said.

Ray took a seat, Clementine sitting down beside him. He allowed the child to lean against him, knowing better than telling her to lay down. The girl preferred to sleep upright.

The child yawned, closing her eyes. "Night, Ray."

"Goodnight Clem." Ray said.

* * *

It wasn't long before Clementine had drifted off. Carlos had gone upstairs to tell his daughter it was time for bed, not too long after.

Now with both of the girls asleep, the cabin was quiet. The group sat around the living room in silence before Luke finally spoke.

"Are we going to talk about this? It's obvious something happened." Luke said.

"Something did happen. But you're pointing fingers at the wrong person." Ray informed them.

"And how do we know that?" Rebecca asked.

"Well, for one, if he was hurting her I don't think she'd cling to him like that." Pete cut in.

"Fair point." Alvin said.

"So... what happened?" Luke asked.

Ray looked to the girl. "I was with a group... They uh... brought Clem back. Had found her in the woods. But they didn't have good intentions. They weren't trying to help her. In fact, they did the exact opposite."

"Did they rape her?" Rebecca asked flatly.

"Yeah..." Ray confirmed.

"Fuck..." Nick sighed. "Where are they now?"

"No idea." Ray answered honest. "They're probably searching for us. They're not going to be happy that we left."

"What are we going to do?" Luke asked. "Now there's really no way we can send them out there. They get their hands on them, then the kid will only be hurt more."

"Well, they can't find us here." Carlos said. "We're safe for now."

"For now… But what about later?" Rebecca sighed.

"This is fucked up." Nick grumbled. "First Carver now this."

"Look, let's just keep calm. We'll figure something out." Pete said. "If it comes down to it and we have to leave, that's what we'll do."

"Right…." Ray said.

"It's probably your best option to stay with us. At least for Clem's sake. She still needs time to recover." Luke told Ray.

"Yeah, you're right." Ray said.

"Then I guess that's settled." Pete said. "In the meantime we should all get some rest."

"Before that…" Ray spoke up, drawing the attention back to himself. "I have a few questions of my own."

The group members exchanged looks.

Pete nodded. "Okay. What would those questions be?"

Ray seemed to hesitate for a moment. "Well, my first and most important one is…. Who's Carver?"


	6. Chapter 6

_**Thanks to that guest user for the idea of Clementine telling Sarah about what happened.**_

 ** _Thanks to gaara king of the sand for the grammar check._**

* * *

"Excuse me?" Rebecca asked, eyes wide.

It was as if no one had expected that question.

"Who's Carver?" Ray repeated.

Everyone was quiet for a moment before Luke let out a sigh, "I guess there's no point in hiding it..."

"Wait, what?" Rebecca quickly said.

"If he's staying with us, he should know." Luke said.

"If he touches on little children, there's no fucking way he's staying with us." Rebecca replied.

Ray sent her a look. "I told you that wasn't me. She was touched, but I didn't touch her. I wouldn't do that."

"Yeah, Bec. If he did I doubt the girl would be so willing to cuddle up to him like that." Alvin said motioning to the child who was fast asleep, leaning against Ray.

Rebecca just crossed her arms, saying nothing.

"Carver… He's a leader of a community not far from here…" Carlos spoke up. "He's a very dangerous man."

"Dangerous how?" Ray asked.

"He has a pretty volatile temper." Luke said. "We're lucky we got away when we did… Things were getting really bad."

"He sounds like a fun guy to be around." Ray said sarcastically.

"If you enjoy bat shit crazy, then definitely." Nick said.

"Look, I can assure you, I have never touched her in that manner." Ray said.

"I don't buy it. You're saying your entire group was fine with raping a child and you were the exception?" Rebecca asked.

"There's a reason it's just the two of us. I'm not gonna let her get hurt again." Ray responded.

"I admire what you're doing. I'm sure Clem is grateful as well." Pete said.

"I'm just doing what's right. No one deserves to go through that shit..." Ray replied.

Rebecca rolled her eyes.

"I know you don't want me here. I can't exactly blame you for being cautious. And I promise, as soon as Clem is healed up we'll be on our way." Ray said.

"Hey, no rush. You're not in great shape either." Luke said.

"Right. Both of you should take the time to heal up." Pete said. "Maybe think of staying with the group."

"That's not happening." Rebecca said.

Ray let out a sigh, "I appreciate the offer...but I'll have to decline."

"So... Where do you plan to go?" Nick asked.

"Not sure yet... Clementine mentioned this place called Wellington, her and her old guardian were heading there... Now I'm not sure how credible an eleven-year-old is, but I'm willing to take a chance if it means getting her somewhere safe." Ray said.

"I'd advise against it..." Carlos said. "It's a bad idea to take a child in her condition out to search for a place that likely doesn't exist."

"Yeah... Well, our options are limited." Ray said.

"Maybe yours are, but that child isn't leaving." Rebecca said.

Ray sent her a look, "She's not staying anywhere without me."

"Why not? You barely even know each other." Rebecca grumbled.

"I know her more than you people. You guys just met the kid." Ray pointed out.

"A few weeks isn't enough to know her. We can't trust you. Knowing the type of people, you were grouped with..." Rebecca said.

Ray narrowed his eyes. "I'm not them."

"Maybe you didn't get the chance to become them. Who's to say you weren't grooming her?" Rebecca replied.

"No way I'd do that. Clem reminds me of my sister. I'd never touch her that way." Ray said. "Besides, she doesn't want to leave me. You can't force her to."

"Ray's right. Clem says he didn't touch her, so we can't just throw him out." Alvin said.

Nick raised a brow, looking Ray over. His gaze slowly fell to Clementine and he gave the child a sympathetic look. "I believe you…"

"What?" Ray asked.

"I don't think you hurt her." Nick said. "Seeing how much she trust you."

"Yeah…" Pete agreed. "The child said herself that it wasn't him."

"That's proof enough for me." Alvin said.

Rebecca only sighed.

"Well, we should probably all settle down for now. No point in chatting the night away. We can talk in the morning." Pete said.

"Yeah. It's probably a smart idea to turn in." Luke agreed.

"I'm gonna take first watch." Pete said.

"I'll switch off with you in a couple hours." Alvin said.

"Alright." Pete said.

With that, the group headed off to bed. Ray tried make himself as comfortable as possible on the space of the couch. It was with difficult with Clementine clinging to him, but he wasn't going to make her uncomfortable. Eventually he managed to fall asleep.

* * *

Morning came and Clementine tried to get Ray to wake up. Except every time she nudged him he just moaned and rolled over.

"Ray..." Clementine called.

"Clem, stop..." Ray batted the child's hand away.

Clementine frowned, "But I-"

Ray cut her off. "Let me sleep, kid."

"But..." Clementine stopped herself. Ray must have been up late.

"Hey there, Clem."

Clementine couldn't help but jump at Luke's sudden voice.

"Hey..." She said. She was watching him warily; she didn't know if she could trust these people yet.

"You're up pretty early." Luke said.

"So are you." Clementine replied.

"Yeah. I was on watch. I tagged in for Pete a little while ago." Luke explained.

"Watching for walkers, or people?" Clementine asked.

"Umm... Both I guess." Luke replied, scratching his head.

"Bad people?" Clementine asked.

Luke sighed, but nodded. "Yeah, kiddo. But you don't have to worry. No bad people are gonna come here."

Clementine raised a brow, "Is Carver bad?"

"What?" Luke was a bit surprised to hear that question.

"You guys thought Ray and I were working for him. You all seemed... nervous..." Clementine said.

"Well... Carver... He is a bad guy... But he won't be coming here either." Luke said.

"You don't know that..." Clementine said.

Luke didn't know how to respond.

"We have bad people chasing us too." Clementine told him. "They did bad things to me."

"I know..." Luke said.

"How?" Clementine asked.

"Ray told us." Luke said.

"Oh... If they find us... They're gonna hurt me again." Clementine said.

Luke shook his head. "They won't get the chance. I promise."

"Promise what?" Came Rebecca's voice as she came downstairs and into the living room.

"He says no bad people can come here." Clementine said.

"That's right, sweetie." Rebecca said.

"That's not true." Clementine said. "I don't believe you."

Rebecca frowned. "Honey..."

"I don't want to talk about it anymore." Clementine said.

"Alright, Clem... You hungry?" Rebecca asked.

"Yeah... Kind of." Clementine said.

"How about we get you some oatmeal." Rebecca offered the child her hand.

"Okay." Clementine said, accepting the woman's hand.

Rebecca led the child to the kitchen.

Rebecca helped the girl to the table and the girl sat down.

Clementine was quiet as Rebecca started to make the food.

After a while the woman came over with two bowls, she placed one down for Clementine and took the other for herself.

Rebecca took a seat next to the quiet child and decided to spark up some conversation. "So, did you have fun with Sarah yesterday?"

"Yeah… We didn't really do much. But I did enjoy drawing again. I haven't been able to do that in so long." Clementine said.

Rebecca offered the child a smile. "Well that's good. You'll be able to draw a lot more now that you're here."

Clementine shook her head. "No… We can't stay here. I need to find my friend…"

"You need to take some time to heal up." Rebecca said. "I'm sure your friend will be fine."

"If she's alive she's going to look for me. I have to do the same." Clementine said.

"That's not a good idea, sweetie." Rebecca told her.

"Why not?" Clementine inquired. "You didn't want us here in the first place."

"Things changed…" Rebecca said.

"What changed? You found out what happened to me and now you pity me?" Clementine asked. "I'm not some weak little girl who needs protection. I can handle myself."

"Clearly." Rebecca said sarcastically.

"Ray and I will be just fine. Christa and I were okay, until those bad people attacked us." Clementine stated.

"Exactly. So, unless you want to get raped again, you'll stay here, where it's safe." Rebecca said. She knew it was harsh, but she really didn't want Clementine going back out there.

"How do I know it's safe?" Clementine asked.

"It's safer here than it is out there." Rebecca said.

"I'd take my chances. I need to find my friend." Clementine simply said.

"For all we know she didn't make it." Rebecca said.

Clementine frowned at that. "I still have to know..."

"Going out there is suicide." Rebecca said. "You have to know that too."

"So is staying anywhere for too long. Maybe it's safe here now, but for how long?" Clementine said.

Rebecca sighed. "Seeing how hurt you were... I don't want that to happen again."

"Ray won't let that happen." Clementine said.

"What makes you so sure about that?" Rebecca asked the girl.

Clementine thought for a moment. "He… He's been looking after me… He's my friend."

"Has he really brainwashed you?" The woman scoffed.

"Who?" Came Sarah's voice.

"No one…." Rebecca said.

Sarah shrugged. "Oh… Okay…"

"You hungry, sweetie? I made some oatmeal." Rebecca said.

"I'm starving." Sarah said.

Clementine nearly rolled her eyes. She doubted these people knew what it felt like to truly be hungry.

Sarah went to get a bowl, scooping oatmeal into it. The teen then made her way to the table and sat down beside Clementine.

"How'd you sleep?" Sarah asked.

Okay…" Clementine said.

"That's good. Do you want to play after breakfast?" Sarah asked.

"Umm… Sure…" Clementine said.

"Great." Sarah smiled. "It's good to have a friend. It gets so lonely being the only kid."

"Yeah…" Clementine said. She knew how Sarah felt. Sometimes she missed having a friend around.

* * *

"I can't believe this shit..." Lance grumbled.

"You said they couldn't have gotten far, right?" Ralph said.

"I don't fucking know anymore." Lance said.

"They must have taken shelter somewhere." Winston said. "I swear when we find them, I'm shooting them both."

"Now, settle down." Lance said. "I'll handle Ray..."

"I guess that's only right. He's your son afterall."

That boy is not my blood." Lance said. "He's my daughter's brother. My daughter is dead..."

"So if we find the girl, do we keep her around?" Winston asked.

"Of course. She's making us go through all this trouble to look for her..." Victor said.

They walked around when Lance suddenly stopped.

"You find something?" Ralph asked.

"Yeah. Take a look." Lance said.

"It's just a dead dog..." Winston scoffed.

"It's not just a dead dog. Someone killed this dog." Lance said.

"...You think Ray's been in this area?" Victor asked.

"Could be..." Lance said. "Meaning we might be hot on their trail..."

* * *

After breakfast Clementine and Sarah had gone upstairs. The two girls spent the morning drawing. By mid-afternoon the other group members were all awake.

The day was relaxing. Clementine felt less on guard when she was playing with Sarah, like she could be a kid again for the first time in a long time.

"I'm kind of hungry again…" Sarah said. "Are you?"

Clementine shrugged.

"I'm going to ask my dad for a snack." Sarah said.

"Okay…" Clementine said.

As Sarah left the room, Clementine continued drawing until she felt the urge to go to the bathroom.

She scooted to the edge of the bed, and slid down until her feet hit the floor.

The girl exited the bedroom and made her way across the hall to the bathroom. She closed the door, making sure to try the knob just in case. She didn't want to be trapped in the bathroom. Luckily the lock was on the inside so she didn't have anything to worry about.

She sat on the toilet and relieved her bladder, feeling a slight sting. She was no longer bleeding, which was good, but she was still really sore.

Once she finished she wiped herself clean and stood up.

Curiosity went through her mind, as she flushed the toilet. She couldn't help but wonder how those men managed to get their private parts inside her. She hesitantly brought her hand to her vagina, guiding it to the little hole. She pressed a finger into it and immediately felt a sharp jolt of pain. Wincing, the girl immediately pulled her hand away.

It hurt just to put her finger in there. How those men managed to get their thingies inside was beyond her. No wonder she was in so much pain.

Curiosity was eating her, and Clementine's eyes darted to her private area. She slowly brought her trembling hand back between her legs and brushed a spot that made her gasp. She felt a bit of fear go through her. She could feel her body tingling a bit, she didn't understand what that sudden feeling of pleasure was.

Clementine quickly pulled the t-shirt back down to cover herself, and went over to the sink to wash her hands. She then made her way out of the bathroom.

When she opened the door, she was surprised to see Nick standing there. Clementine watched the man, looking like a deer in the headlight.

"Sorry… I didn't know you were in there." Nick said.

The child didn't respond. She just continued to watch him with wide eyes.

Nick frowned as he looked the child over, he couldn't help but feel bad for the child. "Umm…Excuse me."

The girl stayed still, watching him cautiously.

Nick sighed and slowly reached out. Placing his hand on the child's shoulder he maneuvered the girl out of the way.

"NO!" The child panicked as he touched her.

Nick quickly let her go, surprised by her shout. He went into the bathroom, shutting the door and leaving the little girl in the hallway.

"No… No, no, no!" Clementine whimpered.

"Clem?" Sarah's voice was heard. "Are you okay?"

Clementine was snapped out of her trance and looked to the teen, who was coming up the stairs. "…I'm fine…"

Sarah furrowed her brows. "You sure?"

Clementine quickly nodded.

"Alright…" Sarah said. "Dad's going to make us some food. Let's go downstairs."

"Okay…" Clementine said.

Sarah didn't miss how her friend was stumbling. She worried for the younger girl. She must've been hurt somehow…

As the two got downstairs, Clementine made her way over to Ray and quickly hugged the young man.

"Hey Clem." Ray greeted the little girl.

"Hey." Clementine smiled.

"How have you been?" Ray asked.

"Good…" Clementine said. "I made a lot of pictures."

"That's good, sweetie. I'm glad you're having fun." Ray said.

"…You really didn't touch her…" Rebecca mumbled.

"I told you I didn't…" Ray said.

"Touch?" Sarah repeated, looking confused.

"It's nothing, Sarah…" Rebecca said. "I think your dad is almost done cooking. Why don't you go check?"

"Okay." Sarah said. "Come on, Clem."

Clementine released her grip from Ray and stood. She followed Sarah as the teen made her way to the kitchen.

Rebecca sighed. "I'm sorry for giving you such a hard time."

Ray was taken aback, hearing the woman suddenly apologize. "What?"

"She's clearly attached to you. I mean… If she's clingy to you like that… You couldn't have hurt her." Rebecca said. "It's just… When I saw how badly she was injured… I couldn't help but feel upset."

"I get it… I felt the same. That's why I have to make sure nothing bad can happen to her… Not again…" Ray said.

* * *

The next day Ray had decided to help out with chores around the place, he didn't want to be a freeloader.

Clementine once again spent the day playing with Sarah. There wasn't much else to do in the cabin. The last few days were pretty uneventful, something Clementine wasn't used to. However, she enjoyed having time to finally relaxed.

By the time the night had come Ray had volunteered to take watch for the night. Clementine protested, but Ray assured her everything would be alright.

The children were upstairs in the room. Sarah was painting the younger girl's nails.

"What do you think?" Sarah asked, as she finished.

Clementine examined her nails. "They look good."

"You really think so?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah. You did a good job." Clementine said.

The teen smiled. "Thanks…"

"You're welcome." Clementine said.

The girls sat in silence, waiting for their nails to dry.

"So… Do you want to sleep in here tonight?" Sarah asked. "Since Ray's on watch."

Clementine seemed to ponder of that offer. "I want to be with Ray…"

"But he might not come in until late." Sarah said.

"I'll wait for him." Clementine said.

"Oh…" Sarah frowned, sounding a bit disappointed. "I was hoping we could have a sleepover…"

Clementine was quiet for a moment. "On second thought… That might be fun."

Sarah beamed. "Really?"

"Yeah." Clementine said.

After that the two girls chatted about random things until Carlos came and told them it was time for bed.

"Aren't you going to lay down?" Sarah asked her friend as the child propped herself up in the bed.

Clementine shook her head.

"Why not?" Sarah asked.

"I can't." Clementine said.

"But… Why?" Sarah asked, looking confused.

"I just can't, okay!" Clementine snapped.

"O-Okay…" Sarah stammered with a frowned.

The two fell silent until Clementine let out a sigh.

"I'm sorry…" The eleven-year-old said. "I didn't mean to snap…"

"It's okay…" Sarah said.

"Umm…. Can I ask you something?" Clementine mumbled.

"Sure…" Sarah said.

Clementine seemed a bit hesitant to ask her question.

"What is it?" Sarah urged her to continued.

Clementine spoke again, after a brief silence. "Have you ever... Have you ever wanted to touch yourself?"

"W-What?" Sarah stuttered.

"I... Nevermind..." Clementine quickly regretted asking that.

Silence fell over the girls again.

Sarah spoke, "What do you mean by touch?"

"...I mean... down there..." Clementine said.

Sarah's eyes widened. "N-No... Why did you ask me that?" Sarah sounded confused and nervous.

"Because... I tried it earlier... And it felt nice..." Clementine said honestly.

"Nice?"

"Yeah... It hurt at first, but then it felt good." Clementine said.

"I don't think you're supposed to do that..." Sarah said.

"Why not?" Clementine asked.

"It's... not good." Sarah said. She didn't know, but she assumed it wasn't good.

Clementine furrowed her brows. "It's not?"

"No... You're not supposed to do that Clementine..." Sarah said.

Now it was Clementine's turn to be confused. "But those people did worse things to me..."

"What people?" Sarah asked.

"The bad people..." Clementine replied.

"Bad people?"

"They attacked me and my friend, Christa." Clementine said. "Then they did things to me..."

"What kind of things?" Sarah questioned.

"...Weird things...Bad things..." Clementine said.

Sarah looked even more confused. "What bad things?"

"They...They put their thingies in my mouth and in my private part." Clementine said.

"W-Why would they d-do that?" Sarah asked, looking horrified at what she had just heard.

Clementine shrugged. "They liked it or something..."

"Did you?" Sarah asked.

Clementine shook her head. "It hurt..."

"R-Ray didn't do that stuff, did he?"

"Of course not!" Clementine exclaimed. "Ray's a good guy."

"That's good." Sarah said.

Clementine paused for a moment. "They might be looking for us…"

"W-What?" Sarah asked.

"For Ray and I…" Clementine said.

"Do you think they'll come here?" Sarah asked.

"I don't know… Maybe…." Clementine said. "I hope not…"

Sarah looked frightened. "...W-Why are you telling me this?"

"I... I don't know... No reason I guess." Clementine let out a sigh, rubbing her forehead.

"Okay." Sarah sounded confused again.

"We should get some sleep." Clementine said.

"Alright..." Sarah mumbled, laying down. "Goodnight, Clem."

"Goodnight." Clementine said back.

* * *

The next morning Sarah woke up first. She didn't wake her sleeping friend. Clementine could probably use the rest.

The teen downstairs with her a confused look on her face. The words from before were still in her mind.

The rest of the group was awake and greeted her, Sarah only half-mindedly greeted back. She took a seat beside her father. "Dad… Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, sweetie…" Carlos said.

"Did… Something bad happen to Clem?" Sarah asked.

"Why?" Carlos asked back.

"Because she told me it did…" Sarah said.

Carlos frowned. "Something bad did happen… But what did she tell you."

"That people did stuff to her… Down there…" Sarah told him.

"She shouldn't have told you that…" Carlos sighed.

"Are the bad people going to come here."

"Of course not. Don't listen to her." Carlos said.

"O-Okay…" Sarah said.

"Why don't you go get some breakfast?" Carlos suggested.

Sarah nodded.

Carlos stood to lead his daughter to the kitchen. He felt a bit annoyed. He was going to have to talk to Ray, and maybe have a word with Clementine about staying away from his daughter.


	7. Chapter 7

**_Thanks to_** _ **Daisyfan5534 for the idea of the Scavengers and Carver working together!**_

 _ **Thanks to gaara king of the sand for the grammar check.**_

* * *

Clementine awoke to find herself alone. The child stretched before looking to the closed door, a surge of panic shot through her. She quickly jumped to her feet and rushed to the door. She turned the knob, sighing in relief as she found it was unlocked.

The child pulled the door open and made her way out of the room. She went to the bathroom to urinate, washing her hands as she finished.

She felt that curious urge to touch herself again, but she ignored it.

She left the bathroom and went downstairs to search for Ray, as she started down the steps she could hear Carlos yelling.

The child was confused as to what was going on.

"For fuck's sake, she doesn't know any better…" Ray said.

"That doesn't justify the fact that the child is inappropriate." Carlos said.

"I'll talk to her. Just take it easy." Ray said, keeping his voice calm. "Those people made her that way…."

Clementine was aware at that point that they were talking about her. She couldn't help but wonder what she had done wrong. She made her way down the stairs and quickly asked, "What's wrong?"

"What did you say to my daughter?"

"What?" Clementine asked, not expecting that question.

"What did you say to my daughter?" Carlos asked again, voice cold as ice.

"N-Nothing." Clementine was a bit startled by his tone.

"Don't you lie to me!" Carlos snapped at the little girl.

"I'm not." The child said, flinching at the yell. "I don't know what I did wrong…"

Carlos glared at the young girl, "Really? You don't have the slightest idea?"

Clementine gave a nervous look, shaking her head.

"What happened to you does not give you the right to go around scaring my child and telling her things she does not need to know." Carlos said.

Clementine frowned, "I… I'm sorry."

"You should be." Carlos spat.

"Leave her alone." Ray said. "She didn't do anything wrong."

"I'll leave her alone, as long as she stays away from my daughter." Carlos said.

Clementine held back tears, she didn't understand what she had done wrong. "I'm sorry…" She muttered again, turning and walking from the room.

"Clem!" Ray called.

The girl kept walking.

Remaining where he was, Ray watched her leave without answering him. The child walked right back upstairs, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

Ray sent Carlos an annoyed look. "Was that really necessary?"

"Yes." Carlos responded, crossing his arms. "Maybe now she'll watch what she says."

"She doesn't even understand what she did wrong."

"Then perhaps you should explain it to her." Carlos said. "And also make sure she understands that she's no longer allowed to be alone with my daughter."

Ray shook his head, "You know what? Fine… She'll stay away from your daughter. But you have no right in treating my sister-"

"Sister?" Carlos repeated.

"I meant, you have no right in treating Clementine like that." Ray corrected.

"And she has no right in telling my daughter about how she was sexually abused." Carlos said.

"She didn't know any better." Ray said. "She's eleven. Little kids just… talk."

"There are certain topics that are appropriate-"

"Right, I get that, but a little girl wouldn't know that." Ray said. "Look, we're not here to make trouble. I'm sticking to my word, as soon as Clem is healed up we're out of your hair."

"I'm starting to think that may be for the best." Without another word, Carlos turned and walked from the room and into the dining area.

Ray let out a sigh. He was already ready to get a move on, but he wanted to make sure Clementine was at a hundred percent first.

He decided to give Clementine some space. He headed outside to get some fresh air and offered to take watch for Alvin.

"You sure? Luke was supposed to switch with me." Alvin said. "You were on most of last night."

"I'm sure." Ray said. "I could use the air anyway. Need to cool my head."

"Did something happen?" Alvin asked.

"Nah… Don't worry about it." Ray shrugged.

"Alright… How's your girl doing?" Alvin questioned.

"Okay… I guess." Ray said with a sigh.

"That's good. What happened to the kid was beyond fucked up."

"Yeah it was." Ray agreed.

"I'm surprised at how good you are with looking after her." Alvin said. "Considering how young you are."

"The kid reminds me of my sister. It's actually nice having her around." Ray said.

"Well, I think what you're doing is really nice. You have my respect." Alvin said.

"I don't need a pat on the back. I'm just doing what's right." Ray said.

"Exactly. Not a lot of people out there that do what's right." Alvin responded.

"Fair point." Ray said, knowing Alvin's words were true.

Alvin stood up and made his way into the house, leaving Ray to his thoughts.

* * *

Troy was awoken abruptly to someone shaking his shoulder. He practically jumped awake.

"God fucking damn you Troy! What the hell happened to my supplies?" Carver asked.

Troy took a look around. "Uh… I don't know…"

"What do you mean you don't know?" Carver said.

"I-"

"You're a fucking idiot." Carver snapped, a look of anger taking over his features. "So basically you allowed scavengers to steal our supplies? You slept here, while people came and took all our stuff?"

"Wait, what?" Troy asked.

"You heard me. People came and took our supplies and you slept through it." Carver said.

"Shit…" Troy said. "I didn't mean to."

"You're lucky you're not in pieces right now!" Carver said.

"No… Bill, listen… I didn't even realize I had dozed off." Troy said. "One minute everything was here. Next thing I know, everything is gone…"

"You really are an idiot." Carver grumbled. "That was a week's worth of supplies. A WEEK'S worth, just gone. Because your dumbass left it unattended."

"Bill, please. I had no clue this shit would happen…" Troy said.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't shoot you." Carver said.

"With all due respect, Bill… Let's not get too ahead of ourselves. It was just a mistake." Bonnie said.

"One that shouldn't have happened. What are we supposed to do about the supplies that he lost?"

"Bill, we still have some stuff in the truck." Johnny said.

"I'm not concerned about what's in the truck. I'm concerned about what's going on in Troy's damn head."

"Bill, I'm sorry, really I am." Troy said.

"Sorry doesn't bring my supplies back, does it?" Carver said. "Now, I want that reason."

Troy looked at him, not knowing what to say.

Carver however wanted a response. "Answer me."

Troy took a deep breath as he tried to think of something to say to the furious man. "Just give me another chance. I'll find those thieves and get our stuff back.

"Troy…." Bonnie sighed. "Bill enough. This doesn't have to be made into a big deal."

"It is a big deal." Carver said. "When it comes to supplies every little bit counts. Every ounce of food and water is crucial for survival. Every bit of medical supplies is important. There should be repercussions for letting it get stolen."

"I'll get it back. I swear." Troy claimed.

"How?" Carver asked.

"I'll track those thieving shits down. Get all the supplies back." Troy said.

Carver thought for a moment about what he was saying. "I'll give you twenty-four hours. You'll led the way and we better find them by then, or else. I don't tolerate people stealing from me. They need to be taught a lesson."

* * *

"So… What did you guys get?" Lance asked as Winston and Ralph returned to their camp.

"A lot of shit. Easiest scavenge I've been on." Winston said. "Damn idiot didn't even wake up."

"He left his stuff out in the open too." Ralph said.

"Good for us. It's their lost." Lance said.

"Big fucking time." Winston said.

"So… Do you really think we're going to find them?" Victor asked.

"They can't be too far now." Lance said.

"You sure about that?" Ralph asked. "I figured we would've found them already."

"They must be hiding out somewhere... Or we would've run into them by now." Victor said.

"Patience is the key, fellows." Lance said.

"Hard to be patient about much of anything these days." Ralph sighed.

"In my opinion we just need to call it quits. Those two could be anywhere by now." Victor said.

"And let such a pretty little toy get away? Are you out of your mind." Winston scoffed.

"She already got away. I'm just saying, I think we need to let this go." Victor said.

"We don't let anything go. We have a score to settle with Ray." Lance said. "He waited until we weren't expecting it, then he stabbed us in the back. He needs to suffer the consequences."

"So what do we do if we find them?" Ralph asked.

"WHEN we find them, I'm going to show Ray what happens when people get on my bad side." Lance said. "Time is ticking and his days are numbered."

"And the girl?" Winston questioned.

"She's nothing but a toy. You can do as you please with her." Lance said.

Winston smirked. "Sounds like a plan."

"We cross that river tomorrow. And something's telling me we won't have to go much further after that." Lance stated with confidence.

* * *

After breakfast, Rebecca headed to the bathroom to get cleaned up, but her attention was caught by a quiet sobbing. She glanced to the closed door of Sarah's room. She waited for a moment, but as the crying continued, she went to the door.

She gave a light knock on the door and suddenly the crying stopped. "Clem?"

There was no response.

Rebecca slowly opened the door and caught sight of Clementine sitting on the bed, the child's knees were pulled to her chest and her eyes were puffy, but she was no longer crying.

"You okay?" Rebecca asked.

"I'm fine..." Clementine said quickly.

"You don't look fine..." Rebecca made her way into the room and took a seat beside the young girl. "What's wrong? Talk to me."

Clementine shook her head, burying her face into her knees.

"Clem, come on... I can't help you if you don't talk to me..." Rebecca said.

The child say nothing for a moment, before slowly lifting her head and saying, "Carlos... He just... yelled at me. I don't know what I did wrong..." Clementine frowned.

"What did he yell at you?" Rebecca asked the little girl.

Clementine shrugged. "I told Sarah about the bad people, she must've told him and it made him really angry with me..."

Rebecca sighed. "Honey, don't mind him... He can be really over-protective when it comes to Sarah..."

Clementine didn't respond.

"Are you okay?" Rebecca asked again.

"I'm sorry..." Clementine mumbled. "Ray and I don't want to cause any trouble... Maybe we can leave tomorrow... Or even today if we have to..."

"Hey. No one's kicking you out." Rebecca said. "You're welcome to stay here."

"I don't want to stay anywhere without Ray." Clementine said.

"As long as he never hurts you, he can too..." Rebecca said with a sigh.

Clementine frowned, shaking her head. "But we can't... We need to go. Christa's still out there... And we don't belong here anyway."

"Why do you say that?" Rebecca asked.

"You guys are a family...Families belong together. Ray and I are just outsiders." Clementine said. "We shouldn't be here... I don't want to be a burden..."

"You're not a burden. What's making you feel that way?" Rebecca asked.

Clementine shrugged. "Everyone I know... Everyone I loved... they're all gone... I don't have a family anymore. It's just that simple..."

"What about Ray?" Rebecca asked.

"I like him... but I don't know if he's just taking care of me because he feels bad or if he really cares about me..." Clementine said.

"I think he cares about you, Clem. In fact, I know he does." Rebecca said.

Clementine raised a brow. "How do you know?"

"Because I care about you too, despite only know you for a few days." Rebecca said.

"That's hard to believe... I'm just a toy. Why would you care about me?" Clementine asked.

"Clem... You're not a toy. You're a person." Rebecca said. "Don't talk about yourself like that."

"It's the truth." Clementine whispered.

"Clementine, stop it. Don't talk like that." Rebecca said.

"I'm not used to being with groups... Christa didn't like being around other people... She didn't trust them..." Clementine said. "So this is kind of awkward.

"Well, maybe it's time to learn to trust..." Rebecca said.

Clementine fell silent.

"Look, we're going to solve this right now..." Rebecca stood from the bed. "Come on."

Clementine sent the woman a curious look. "Where?"

"Downstairs. We're going to talk to Carlos about what happened." Rebecca said.

Clementine looked a bit nervous. "I... I don't want to."

"I know you don't, but we're not going to solve this by sitting in here." Rebecca said, urging the child to stand up.

Clementine slowly took the woman's hand.

Rebecca brought the eleven-year-old downstairs and started to search for the man who had made the child cry.

It didn't take long to find him.

"Carlos, we need to talk." Rebecca said calmly. She felt Clementine give a nervous tug on her hand, wanting her to release her grip. Rebecca did so.

Carlos glanced up to her, taking a sip of his drink before placing it down on the table. "About?"

"I think you know what this is about." Rebecca was suddenly feeling irritated with him for showing no remorse for yelling at Clementine. "I think you owe Clem an apology."

"Do I now?" Carlos inquired.

"Yes! You can't be doing that!" Rebecca snapped.

"Doing what?" Carlos asked.

"You yelled at her and made her cry." Rebecca said.

"I did. And I haven't the slightest guilt for raising my voice at the girl." Carlos said, fixing a glare onto the child.

"Clem, you go into the other room, kiddo." Luke called, realizing an argument was about to break out. "You too, Sarah."

"I don't want you guys to argue..." Clementine said.

"It's alright, hon. Just go..." Rebecca said.

"Those two don't need to be alone." Carlos said.

"Girls, out of the room, right now." Rebecca said firmly.

Clementine and Sarah exchanged looks before walking from the room.

"So what's the big deal?" Pete asked.

"So what happened?" Luke asked.

"Clementine told Sarah that those people who sexually abused her were going to come here." Carlos said.

"And in response, he yelled at Clem. He made the kid cry." Rebecca added.

"She wasn't crying when she left my sight." Carlos said.

"That doesn't change the fact that she was crying because of you." Rebecca said.

"Then my message must have gotten through to her. She realized she was wrong and that upset her." Carlos stated.

"You can't go around making her cry!" Rebecca said. "She's been through enough."

Carlos shook his head. "That aside, she cannot go around telling my daughter that rapists are going to come to the cabin! Next time something like this happens-"

"What? You're going to kick them out? She's only a child. An abused child at that." Rebecca said.

Carlos took a deep breath. "I want my daughter to feel comfortable and Clementine needs to know what's appropriate and what's not.

"We'll teach her, one step at a time, Carlos." Pete said. "Kids talk about everything. They're curious. You know that."

"Of course..." Carlos muttered.

"So why are you so upset with her?" Luke asked.

"Her having an innocent conversation with Sarah, wouldn't have been a problem... But the topic was not something suitable for children to talk about." Carlos said.

"Clementine wouldn't know that. I mean, come on, Carlos, there's been times when Sarah has blurted out something she shouldn't." Luke said. "To a kid, anything is suitable to talk about."

"I'm starting to think that maybe we should send them on their way…" Carlos grumbled.

"She's not going anywhere. She's staying with us." Rebecca said.

"They can find somewhere else to go." Carlos stated.

"Hell, no! We're not sending them out there when pedophiles are searching for that girl!" Rebecca said. "Do you really want that child to wander off into the woods and get killed or raped again?"

Carlos frowned at that. "Of course not."

"Then she stays here. End of story." Rebecca said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"THEY stay here. I'm telling you now, Clementine's not going to willingly stay anywhere without Ray." Pete said.

"Fine. They stay with us. They're a part of our group. And we're going to treat them like it." Rebecca said. "No one here should feel like an outsider."

Carlos fell quiet. He didn't like it, but he knew he had lost this argument.

* * *

"Sarah... Are you mad at me?" Clementine asked, looking up from the drawing she was working on.

"No. Of course not." Sarah said. "I just hate when the grownups argue…"

"I'm sure… How come your dad is so angry with me?" Clementine asked.

"I don't know..." Sarah said with a frown. "I'm sorry about my dad. Sometimes he just gets upset and even I don't know why."

"I guess that's understandable." Clementine said.

"So... We're still friends, right?" Sarah asked.

"Of course." Clementine replied.

Sarah smiled. "Thanks. I'm glad."

"Me too." Clementine said.

"And dad will ease up soon. Don't worry about him." Sarah said. "No one can stay mad forever."

"I hope so... Either way, Ray and I don't plan on staying long." Clementine said.

Sarah was surprised to hear that. "Where are you going to go?"

"I don't know... We'll figure something out." Clementine said.

"But why do you want to go out there with those bad people?" Sarah asked.

"Ray won't let them hurt me..." Clementine said.

"But what if they hurt both of you? Ray's only one person..." Sarah pointed out.

"He's been taking care of me for a little while now. He won't let me get hurt." Clementine said.

"I think you should stay with our group." Sarah said. "I hope you do anyway… You my first friend in a long time… I don't want you to leave."

"Your dad doesn't want us here…" Clementine said.

"He doesn't mean it… I don't think anyway…" Sarah said. "Sometimes people say things they don't mean…"

Clementine gave a shrug. "I guess so…"

Silence fell over the two girls. Sarah picked up a book and spoke, "Want me to read to you?"

"Sure." Clementine said.

The two girls settled on the bed and Sarah began reading to the young girl.

* * *

Everyone was exhausted from searching for supply thieves. However, Carver was persistent about wanting to find them.

"I think we should take a break, Bill. It's been over an hour since we started searching for these folks. We don't even know what we're looking." Bonnie said.

Carver didn't respond.

"Bill... We don't know if we're going to find them." Johnny said.

"We will find them." Troy said.

Bonnie started to protest, "But-"

"We don't stop, until I say so." Carver said.

They noticed he looked thoroughly fed up, so everyone kept quiet, not wanting him to get angry.

They continued to quietly walk through the woods for a while before Carver suddenly held up his arm, and the others stopped.

They could hear voices, the voices of three or four men.

They spread out and hunkered down. Scanning the area, they spotted a small fire and a group of men gathered around it.

Carver's gaze fell onto a familiar supply bag and he narrowed his eyes. The man stood, and the others look to him.

"We're going in." He gave a nod towards the camp.

The others carefully followed suit.

Carver sighted in on the nearest scavenger, with his gun he sent the man to the ground with a yell as he fired a bullet into his shoulder.

When the group rushed in, guns ready to fire the scavengers were taken by surprise.

Carver took advantage of that. "Don't any of you fucking move."

"W-We don't want any trouble." Victor stammered.

"Then you should've thought about that before taking my supplies." Carver said.

"We had no clue it was yours." Ralph said.

"That's a damn lie." Troy cut in.

"N-No… Really!" Winston said, gritting his teeth as he clutched his shoulder.

"Well now you do." Carver said. "I don't take kindly to people stealing from me."

"Look, we can work this out… You can have all the supplies back…" Lance said.

"And let you folks walk away scot-free after stealing from us?" Carver chuckled.

"Not exactly scot-free." Lance scoffed. "You shot one of our men."

"I was aiming for the head. Next time I'll be more accurate in my shot." Carver stated.

"W-What do you want, man?" Winston asked, trying to stop the bleeding from his wound. "He said take the fucking supplies."

Carver chuckled. "I want to make sure you people can never steal from me again." He nodded to the others, who aimed their weapons at the men.

"Wait!" Ralph said. "Don't shoot!"

"Give me a reason why we shouldn't?" Carver said.

"I… I…" Ralph stammered.

Lance spoke, "Tell me what you need? If it's more supplies, no deal because this is all we got."

"No… How about I ask you a question? You answer and I rethink shooting you folks." Carver said.

"Alright…" Lance said.

"I'm out looking for my people. There's seven of them." Carver said. "Maybe you've run into them."

"Haven't run into many people lately." Lance said. "But we have something in common. We're looking for some people two. A man and a little girl."

"Is that so?" Carver asked.

"Yeah." Lance said. "The girl… she was… kidnapped from me. I've been looking after her."

Carver was quiet for a moment and Lance worried the man saw through his lie. "Well, I'm sorry to hear about your girl. How about I purpose a deal?"

"What's that?" Lance inquired.

"You help me find my people and I'll spar you folks." Carver said. "I'll even sweeten the deal by helping you find your little girl. What do you say?"

A smirk made its way onto Lance's face. "Deal."

* * *

Silence surrounded the dining table. No one spoken during dinner. Not a single word. It was extremely awkward.

It was almost as if everyone was too scared to talk.

As the tensed dinner carried on Rebecca cleared her throat. "So... Carlos, do you have something you would like to say?"

Carlos groaned, looking up from his plate. "I... apologize for overreacting. I've just been on edge. We all have."

Ray shook his head. "There's no need to apologize. We know you were just trying to protect your daughter. Believe me, I understand."

Some on the tension in the room seemed to evaporate.

Clementine remained silent. She still felt a bit anxious after being yelled at.

"We just want you guys to know, that you're welcome to stay here as long as you want..." Rebecca said.

"We... We really appreciate that." Ray said.

Sarah smiled. "So you're staying?"

"That's still up in the air… In the meantime, yes. I want Clementine to get heal up."

"You need to heal up too." Clementine said. "You should worry about yourself for once."

Ray rubbed his temples. "Alright, Clem. Both of us will stay until we heal up. And we'll figure it out from there."

Clementine nodded in response.

"Well… with all that settled. Nick and I are going to go check the fish traps tomorrow." Pete said.

"I can go with you." Ray offered.

"Alright, if you want, we could use an extra lookout." Pete said. "You never know what might happen."

"Can I go?" Clementine asked.

"I don't know Clem… You could barely walk a few days ago…" Ray said.

"Please…" The child begged.

Pete shrugged. "I don't mind if you tag along, but the final decision is with Ray."

"How far are these fish traps." Ray asked.

"Not too far." Pete said. "Although it might be too much of a walk for her injuries…"

"I can handle it. Please, Ray?" Clementine asked.

Ray shook his head. "It's not a good idea… I'm sorry. Clementine."

The child gave a small pout.

"Okay then. We'll head out bright and early, so make sure to get your winks in." Pete said.

* * *

With introductions, aside, the next morning Carver and the others carried on through the woods. Lance had suggested heading to the river, but Carver saw no point, having stopped there once before.

"Lance, this is ridiculous. No way we're helping these assholes out after they shot at us, after they put a bullet in Winston's shoulder." Ralph said.

"We don't have much of a choice right now, do we?" Lance replied.

"Of course we do. I say we kill these mother fuckers... Wait for the right moment to strike." Winston said, his shoulder had been patched up by the woman who introduced herself as Bonnie.

As they continued through the woods, Carver strain his hearing to hear what those scavengers were up to.

"-we should be able to take them out." He heard Victor whisper. "Just signal to us Lance and we'll make the move."

Carver smiled to himself. Clearly he was going to have to take some steps to discourage unloyalty. He slowed down before calling out, "New route. We're heading toward the river." He was sure the sight there would be a surprising one.

The others seemed confused, but the followed the man as he led the way.

"A-Are you sure, Bill?" Bonnie whispered to him.

"Certain. These people need an example of what could happen if they try to break our deal..." Carver stated.

Bonnie seemed hesitant but nodded regardless.

"I hope you folks aren't plotting anything. That would make me have a change of heart." Carver spoke up just as they neared the river.

"What makes you think that?" Lance asked.

"I'm just saying..." Carver shrugged.

The made it to the river and stumbled upon several bodies.

Lance and his men were shaken by the sight in from of them, but even more surprising was Carver's reaction- or lack of reaction.

The man was completely unphased.

"W-What the hell happened here?" Winston choked out.

Let's just say, this is what our meeting could've been had we not made a deal." Carver said. "It doesn't look like our people are around. Let's keep moving."

Before they could continue on, a bullet whizzed pass Carver, fired by a man on the ground.

Carver didn't even flinch as a curious expression crossed his face and he slowly approached person.

The man frantically checked his gun, a look of panic on his face as he realized he had no more bullets.

"Looks like you missed this one, Troy." Carver said.

"Shit. Sorry. I thought I killed him." Troy said.

"Yeah, I know your sorry, but you can't help being an idiot." Carver grumbled.

Troy took the insult without a word.

Lance admired, how much power Carver held over people due to their fear of him.

Bonnie cringed a bit as Carver kicked the already injured man on the ground.

"Get up..." Carver ordered.

"P-Please..." The man tried to plead.

"I said get up." Carver repeated.

The man struggled to his unsteady feet.

"I'm going to give you the chance to run." Carver said. "And you better hope we never see each other again. Because the next time I see you. I will shoot you dead. Understand?" Carver asked, voice so calm it chilled everyone around him.

The man looked to the gun in Carver's hand, hesitating for a bit.

"You have three seconds to start running." Carver spat.

That was all it took for the injured man to start limping away.

Bonnie held her breath, knowing what was coming. She knew Carver wouldn't let him get away.

"I think you're forgetting something!" Carver called out.

The man turned and Carver fired a bullet, hitting him in the chest.

Bonnie turned away, not wanting to see.

Carver looked to the wide-eye on lookers. "You've all witness that. He fired at me. I acted in self-defense. Allow that to be a lesson to you. You gentlemen seemed on the verge of making a hasty decision. You don't want to cross me. You want to go a long way to keep from doing so. Would you like me to further clarify?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"Good. Let's keep moving." Carver said.

Everyone continued to stare in shock.

"I said keep moving!" Carver snapped, face contorting into a look of anger.

This time the group began walking.

* * *

At the cabin Nick, Pete, and Ray readied themselves to depart from the cabin.

"Are you sure I can't go?" Clementine asked.

"I'm sure. It's dangerous." Ray said.

"But I'm fine, Ray." Clementine said. "Trust me."

"I just don't want you to push yourself." Ray said. "You still need to heal up."

"Pete said the river's not that far. I'll be okay." Clementine said.

"I said no, Clem. You stay here. We'll be back soon." Ray said.

Clementine frowned those words. "…Okay…"

"Don't be upset." Ray asked, noting her reaction.

The child pouted, not saying anything.

Before Ray could speak another word, Pete and Nick came downstairs.

"Alright, you two ready to head out?" Pete questioned.

"Yeah…" Ray said. "You know, I'd feel much safe if I had a weapon."

"I'm sure, but we'd do best to conserve as much ammo as possible." Pete said.

Ray couldn't tell if that was his honest excuse or if it was his polite way of saying "we still don't trust you". Regardless, it looked like he wouldn't have a weapon.

"What about a knife?" Ray asked.

"As long as you stick close, you won't need a weapon." Pete said.

"I'd still feel better having one…" Ray said.

Nick and Pete exchanged looks before Pete reached into his pocket, pulling out a hunting knife.

"Don't make me regret this." Pete said.

"I don't plan to." Ray said, accepting the weapon.

Pete gave a nod. "Come on."

The three headed outside and started the walk towards the river. After a while of walking they took a brief stop after Nick complained about needing to pee.

"Try to make it quick, boy. We don't have all day." Pete said.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Nick said before walking off.

"What's with him?" Ray asked.

"Don't mind him. Boy always has an attitude about something. That's just how he is."

"Really?" Ray asked.

"Yeah, he can be a pain in the ass, but I love him like a son." Pete said. "Come on, let's keep moving."

Ray paused. "Shouldn't we wait for him?"

"Nah... He'll catch up." Pete said.

With Pete's urging they continued walking.

"So... how you holding up after the whole incident with Carlos yesterday?" Pete asked.

"I'm fine… I'm more concerned about Clem. He hurt the poor kid's feelings." Ray said.

"I'm sorry about that, the group's just on edge because of Carver."

"How much farther to these fishtraps?"

"Not much..." Pete said. "So... that girl of yours, does she know how to shoot?"

"I think so." Ray said. "I haven't seen her shoot, but if she survived this long, someone must've taught her."

"That's good. It's important nowadays." Pete said, making his way through a wired fence.

Ray followed after the man.

"Nick was about Clem's age first time I took him huntin'. Came across this beautiful thirteen-point buck just standin' there on the ridgeline. The boy takes the rifle." Pete raised his gun as demonstration. "Lines up the shot just like I taught him... then I hear him start whinin'. He turns to me and he says, "I can't do it. I can't shoot it, uncle Pete. Please don't make me shoot it."

"Really?" Ray asked. "Well... Clementine's not much of a whiner."

"I can tell." Pete said.

"Hey!" Called out Nick, racing up to the two. "Why didn't you wait?"

"You want us standin' around while you piss on a tree? You know where the river is, boy." Pete said. He turned and the continued walking. "Anyway, so I go to grab the gun out of his hand before the big buck runs off when BANG! The boy nearly gut shot me. And of course, the buck gets away."

"What are you going in telling him this shit for?"

"I was just making conversation." Pete said.

Nick glared at the man. "You're always trying to embarrass me."

"You do a good enough job of that on your own." Pete retorted.

Nick held his glare, before walking pass him, purposely bumping his shoulder.

"Leaving us again?" Pete called out.

"I know where the fucking river is!" Nick stated as he walked away.

"So anyway... I found that buck later that season. Shot it right in the neck. Brought it up to my sister's figurin' she'd want to freeze some of the meat... Nick didn't speak to me for weeks." Pete finished off his story. "Sometimes you gotta play a role... even if it means people you love hate you for it."

"I doubt he hates you." Ray said.

"Nick's father wasn't there much. And he was a piece of shit when he was. So, it fell on me to raise him right. Meant I couldn't just be "nice uncle Pete"." Pete explained.

Before Ray had the chance to respond, Nick yelled out, "UNCLE PETE!"

The two looked to the direction Nick had walked to before running over.

They were unprepared for what they saw.

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph..." Pete muttered as they took in the horrific scene.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Another update, finally. And on my birthday nonetheless.**_

 ** _Hopefully, I'll have my other fics updated sometime this week as well._**

 ** _Enjoy~_**

* * *

After a quick breakfast of warmish oatmeal, Sarah had practically drug Clementine upstairs, telling her little friend that she had the perfect outfit for her.

Clementine sat on the bed while Sarah begin tearing through the draw.

"I can't fit it anymore… I think it might be a little big on you, but it's better than what you have on now… no offense." Sarah said.

Clementine took no offense. What she was wearing now wasn't anything ideal. Alvin's t-shirt was big enough to cover her and keep her pretty warm, but it was also so large that it would slip off her shoulders and she would have to constantly adjust it.

"Ah-ha!" Sarah exclaimed, finally finding what she had been searching for. The teen turned to Clementine to reveal a frilly dress. "What do you think?"

Clementine looked at the dress, not responding for a moment. If she had been eight, if she had been innocent and carefree again she would have jumped with excitement after being offered such a pretty dress. But she wasn't that little girl from a few years ago…

As she looked at the ruffles of the dress, her mind kept picturing it being nothing but an attachment for a walker to latch onto.

"You don't like it?" Sarah asked with a frown.

"No… I do…" Clementine said.

"It's fine… You… You don't have to wear it." Sarah started to place the dress back into the draw. "I just thought it'd look cute on you."

The child didn't want to make Sarah feel bad so she said, "I'll wear it. It's a nice dress."

"You really think so?" Sarah asked.

Clementine nodded quickly, "Yeah. I'll put it on now."

"Okay. Hurry!" Sarah handed the younger girl the dress which Clementine accepted.

The child stood from the bed and headed to the door. She paused at the doorway, her little cheeks flushing. "Umm…Sarah…"

"Yeah?"

"Do… Do you have any… underwear?" Clementine asked the teen.

"Underwear?" Sarah repeated, furrowing her brows.

"Y-Yeah. I don't have any…" Clementine said, looking embarrassed.

"I… I don't know if I have any that will fit you. I can check." Sarah said.

With that the child went to the bathroom to change.

After she had changed into the dress she examined her appearance in the mirror. The girl frowned, she used to love wearing dresses, but now it felt almost uncomfortable.

She slowly returned to the bedroom to show Sarah the dress.

The teen immediately squealed, "You look so cute!"

"T-Thanks." Clementine stammered.

"We have to show Rebecca!" Sarah grabbed the child's hand, but Clementine stopped her from tugging her out the room.

"Wait…" Clementine said. "Do you have any extra panties or-"

"Umm, I have some leggings if you want those…" Sarah offered. "They'll keep you covered…"

"Yes please." Clementine said.

Sarah nodded and released the child's hand. She grabbed the leggings off the bed and handed them to the eleven year old.

Clementine wasted no time in putting the leggings on.

After that the two girls headed downstairs, at Sarah's urging.

Rebecca had told her Clementine she looked cute.

If being cute was the reason those people did what they did to her, Clementine didn't want to be cute. Regardless, Clementine thanked the woman and forced a smile.

At that moment, she decided she hated that dress.

* * *

The brutal scene at the river made Ray's stomach drop. When Nick once again mention Carver, claiming he was the one responsible, Ray couldn't help but wonder what more was this "Carver" person capable of.

Despite the feeling that they should get out of there, Ray went along with Pete's plan to check the bodies, hoping to get some sort of explanation on what happened, though he already had a fairly good idea. That plan however, turned out to be a mistake. As walkers quickly separated them and Pete ended up bit.

Now stuck in a trailer with the bite victim, Ray could only hope he wouldn't turn.

"How do you feel?" Ray asked the injured man.

"Well, other than the bite, I'm just peachy." Pete scoffed.

"What are you going to do?" Ray asked the injured man.

"There's not much I can do… Who knows how long we'll be in here…" Pete replied, clearly distraught.

Ray's eyes drifted to a nearby saw, "We could always… cut it off… It might work."

"And it might not… I'd bleed out like a stuck pig…" Pete frowned.

"Maybe it's worth a try… If it could save your life." Ray said.

"And who's going to cut it off, you?" Pete inquired.

"If you give me the go ahead, I'll do what I can." Ray said.

Pete took a deep breath, looking to the saw. "…Okay…. Do it."

Ray nodded, once again looking to the saw. He just hoped that he could cut the limp off before the infection had spread…

* * *

"What's taking them so long?" Clementine asked. "How far is the river?"

"Clem, relax. They'll be back soon." Rebecca said. "Why don't you go draw?"

"I can't. I'm worried about Ray." Clementine said.

"Ray's fine. He's tough." Luke said. "They probably just caught more fish than they know what to do with. Which means we'll be eating good tonight."

"I want Ray to be here… They've been gone all morning. I didn't think it was going to take this long." Clementine replied.

"Sweetie, you're worrying about nothing. Sometimes they take a while to get back. Who knows what they decided to do." Rebecca said.

The little girl frowned. "You don't think they're in trouble, do you?"

"Of course not." Rebecca said. "You need to stop worry. How about you go see if Sarah wants to play cards."

"Okay." Clementine agreed, turning and exiting the room.

With the child gone, Luke released a heavy sigh.

"What's wrong?" Rebecca asked.

"…I don't know. Clem… She might be right. They'd usually be back by now." Luke said.

"Oh, not you too." Rebecca said. "You know you got to expect the unexpected out there. They're probably on their way back now…"

"The unexpected is what worries me… They might be in trouble." Luke said.

"So, what do you plan to do?" Carlos inquired.

"If they're not back within the next hour or two I'm going to go looking for them." Luke informed them.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Carlos asked.

"Maybe not. But I have to do what I have to do. I'm not going to just leave them out there…" Luke said.

"I'll go with you." Alvin offered. "You shouldn't be alone."

"Alvin, no." Rebecca protested. "You can't."

"Bec, you said it yourself, it's no big deal." Alvin said. "Everything will be fine."

"I'm going to do my best to believe you…" Rebecca said in response.

* * *

Ray was nervous to perform such and intense surgery. He had basic first aid knowledge, but he wasn't a doctor.

Ray knew there was a huge chance that Pete could bleed out, making everything for naught.

"If…. If I don't make it, tell my nephew I love him…" Pete said.

Ray wanted to assure him that he would be fine, but he couldn't lie to the man "I will…"

"Thank you." Pete muttered.

"Are you sure about this?" Ray asked.

"Not like I have anything to lose... Other than my piggly wigglies." Pete said. "Let's get this over with."

"Okay..." Ray said. "I'm going to use my shirt sleeve to cut off blood flow."

Pete just nodded.

Ray quickly tore on of the sleeves from his shirt.

He tightly tied the cloth a few inches above Pete's ankle.

They had no medicine and they were in an unsterile environment. Ray was sure Pete would be in more pain than either of them ever imagined, but it was his leg or his life...

Pete's heart was pounding in his chest. He watched as Ray picked up the saw with trembling hands.

"Ready?" Ray asked.

Pete braced himself. "As ready as I can be in this situation."

Ray raised the saw, but hesitated. "I've never done this before."

"I wouldn't have expected that you'd sawed a man's leg off before." Was Pete's reply. "Do it."

"Do you… have something to bit down on?" Ray asked him.

Pete forced a hand into his jacket pocket, pulling out a tattered cloth.

"That will do…" Ray said.

Pete bit down on the cloth and Ray brought the saw down onto his leg.

Pete quickly averted his gaze, screaming in agony, as the saw cut through his skin, eventually hitting bone.

It took everything for Ray not to force himself to stop. He felt like he would vomit any minute, he couldn't imagine what Pete was feeling.

The walkers outside continued their physical assault on the door. Ray did his best to focus on the task at hand.

Pete lost consciousness when Ray finally finished, in too much pain to stay awake.

Ray quickly Pete's jacket to make a tourniquet. He knew Pete was going to lose a lot of blood. He just hoped the man would be able to pull through for a few hours, because they weren't going anywhere until the walkers cleared out.

Pete was hot as a furnace, Ray worried that the man just might turn despite his efforts to keep him alive.

He told himself, if it came to that he would do what he had to…

* * *

After another two hours had passed, Luke decided he couldn't just sit there anymore.

He and Alvin gathered up some guns and despite Rebecca's pleading for them to stay, they headed out.

Alvin had once again reassured his wife that everything would be okay.

Rebecca only hoped it was true.

However, when the sky started to get darker and no one had yet returned to the cabin, she started to panic. "They should be back by now! What's taking them so long?"

Carlos just shook his head, a frown on his lips.

"What are we going to do?" Rebecca asked.

"At this time, there's nothing we can do. It's too late to leave. Not to mention we can't leave the children alone." Carlos replied.

Rebecca sighed. "They shouldn't have left. This was a bad idea..."

Carlos frowned, "What's done is done. We'll just have to hope they come back soon... If not-"

Rebecca interrupted him. "If not, we have to look for them."

"What about the girls. Who will look after them?" Carlos asked.

"The girls will be fine. We'll just tell them to lock the door." Rebecca said.

"I don't know…"

"We don't have any other options." Rebecca said. "Our group is out there... My HUSBAND is out there. I'm going to look for them, with or without you."

Carlos groaned. "Rebecca, no. You can't go out there."

"I will. If they're not back by morning I will." Rebecca replied.

Carlos shook his head. "I can't let you go out there alone then..."

"Then we'll both go." Rebecca simply said. "Otherwise, I'm going alone."

"Where are you going?" Came a little voice.

The adults looked to the source.

Rebecca spoke, "Clem, you should be in bed."

"I can't sleep... I miss Ray... I want him to come back." Clementine said.

"He'll be back soon." Carlos said.

"But you guys said that earlier." Clementine said.

"I know." Carlos sighed.

"And he's not back yet." Clementine added.

"We know, Clem. We're going to go looking for them in the morning." Rebecca said.

"Can I go?" Clementine asked.

"Absolutely not." Carlos said.

"Why not?" Clementine asked.

"It's too dangerous. Not to mention, you're still recovering from an assault…" Carlos responded.

"I'm fine." Clementine said.

"You're still limping." Carlos retorted. "You'll stay here."

Clementine frowned.

"Come on, sweetie. It's time to turn in." Rebecca said. "Get back in bed."

"C-Can't I stay with you, please?" Clementine asked.

"Okay, Clem." Rebecca said.

"Thank you…" The child muttered.

Rebecca looked to Carlos, "Goodnight, Carlos."

Carlos gave a nod. "Goodnight."

Rebecca led the little girl upstairs and to her room.

The two got into the bed and Rebecca pulled the blankets over them.

"You okay, sweetie?" Rebecca asked the child.

Clementine gave a small nod. "Please don't go tomorrow. I don't want you to leave."

"Clementine, I can't just sit here and do nothing." Rebecca said.

"But what if you don't come back too?" Clementine asked with a frown.

"I can't promise anything… but hopefully everything will be alright." Rebecca said. "Okay?"

"Okay…"

"Good, now try to get some sleep." Rebecca told the child.

Clementine nodded and allowed her eyes to flutter shut. She hoped everyone was okay.

* * *

Nick didn't know how much time had passed since he, Pete, and Ray had gotten separated. All he knew is he had to find them

Or at least get back to the cabin to warn the others about Carver possibly being in the area.

He had taken shelter and waited the entire night for someone to come find him or for the walkers to clear out… Whichever happened first.

By dawn, they walkers had finally scattered and he took the chance to leave behind his temporary shelter.

He knew Pete was tough. His uncle could handle himself in most situations, better than anyone else Nick knew, but no one was invincible and who knew how many men Carver had brought along.

"Damn it…" Everything was so fucked. He couldn't believe they were going through this trouble and all they had planned to do was get some fish for dinner.

Nick kept walking, hoping to find a trail leading him to wherever the hell his Uncle Pete and Ray were.

When he heard a rustling behind the trees he stopped.

"Hello?" He called.

No response.

"Uncle Pete?" He asked, looking around.

He noticed a figure step from the clearing, but it wasn't who he expected.

That figure was quickly followed by several more, some familiar, some not.

"Oh shit…" Nick muttered.

* * *

With every passing minute, Ray was more and more on edge. Pete had lost a lot of blood, and he was starting to bleed through the jacket that Ray had wrapped around his wound.

They had been in there all damn day and night, Ray knew Pete wouldn't last much longer. All night, Pete was in and out of consciousness, and in and out of lucidity. Ray was surprised the man was even alive. He had to get them out of there.

He could no longer hear the walkers banging against the truck, so he assumed they had lost interest. Slowly he stood and went to look outside. As he had thought, only a few of the dead lingered nearby, but not nearly as many as before.

Now was their opportunity to get out of there.

Ray returned to where Pete was and took Pete's pulse. It was weak. No surprise there.

He had to do something. They couldn't just stay there while Pete slowly bled to death.

Ray attempted to rouse Pete. "Pete, we're going to get out of here."

After a moment, Pete's eyes opened. He looked completely exhausted.

"We're getting out of here. Don't worry." Ray reassured him.

"What... about the lurkers?" Pete questioned, coughing.

"They cleared out." Ray helped the man up, supporting the weight of the barely awake man. He just hoped Pete would be conscious enough to give him directions to the cabin if he needed them.

* * *

"Please don't go. I don't want anything bad to happen." Clementine said.

"Clem, it's going to be okay." Rebecca said. "You and Sarah play upstairs and whatever you do, don't answer the door."

"Okay…" Clementine mumbled.

"Good…" Rebecca replied.

"Just keep the doors locked, and don't open them for anything." Carlos said. "We'll be back as soon as we can."

"What if Ray or someone else comes back." Clementine asked.

"You can let them in. They're the exception." Rebecca replied.

Clementine nodded in response.

"Just going upstairs, don't tell Sarah anything… Just distract her." Carlos said.

"Distract?" Clementine repeated.

"Keep the doors locked." Carlos said again. "Everything will be okay."

With that, the two left. Clementine locked the door behind them.

The girl went upstairs to find Sarah and the two children started messing around with a camera, which they had found earlier that day.

A few minutes passed before Sarah frowned. "Hey… Where's my dad?"

Clementine paused for a moment. "He… He'll be back…"

Sarah looked unsure. "What's going on? Where is everyone?"

At first Clementine didn't know how to respond.

"Clem?" Sarah called, furrowing her brows.

"…You should know what's going on…" Clementine muttered.

"He told you not to tell me… didn't he?" Sarah asked.

"Everyone's gone… It's bad…"

Sarah gasped, before taking a few deep breaths. "I… I'm sorry. I just need to…" She trailed off, breathing quickly.

"Sarah?" Clementine said, looking worried.

Sarah said nothing as she tried to calm herself. She slowly took a seat.

Clementine hesitated a bit before sitting next to her. She offered the teen a small smile, which Sarah soon returned.

"Hey… Do you want to see what I found?" Sarah asked.

"Sure." Clementine said.

Sarah reached under the bed and pulled out a gun. "Do you know how to use it? Will you show me how?"

"Where'd you get it?" Clementine questioned.

"I think one of the grown-ups left it on the table…" Sarah said honestly. "It doesn't have any bullets… Will you show me how? If something's wrong, I should know. what if I have to use one?"

"As long as you don't tell your dad." Clementine said. "First, remember it's just a thing."

"What does that mean?" Sarah asked.

"Umm… I don't know." Clementine said.

"Hmm… I thought it'd be heavier." Sarah commented before glancing back to the younger girl. "Okay, what do I do?"

"The most important thing is, always aim for the head." Clementine adjusted the girl's arms so she was holding the gun properly.

"Okay." Sarah said.

"Unless it's a person trying to hurt you." Clementine said.

"Then what do I do?" Sarah asked.

"Just keep shooting." Clementine told her.

Sarah nodded. "What should I shoot?"

The teen whipped around and unintentionally aimed the gun at Clementine causing the child to duck.

"Don't do that!" Clementine exclaimed.

"S-Sorry! Sorry…" Sarah stammered. She lowered the gun. "I'm sorry, Clem. Really."

"It's fine… Just-"

Before Clementine could say another word, there was a loud banging at the door.

"Hey, maybe my dad's back!" Sarah said.

"I guess we should go see." Clementine said.

The two children made their way downstairs.

With some hesitation, the two made their way to the door.

"Open up!" Came a familiar voice.

"Ray!" Clementine exclaimed. She quickly unlocked and threw open the door, only for her expression to fall at the sight. "W-What happened."

Ray sounded out of breath when he uttered, "Not now. Where's Carlos?"

"He just left." Clementine answered.

Ray entered the house and rested the unconscious Pete onto the couch. "What do you mean he left? Where did he go?"

"He went looking for you guys. What happened, Ray?" Clementine asked.

"We were ambushed by walkers. Pete got bit." Ray explained.

"Oh my gosh…" Sarah muttered. "My… My dad might come back soon. He can fix him."

"He lost a lot of blood…" Ray said. "He needs the doctor now…"

"Y-You cut his leg off…" Clementine noticed.

"I had no other choice." Ray said.

The child frowned, "That doesn't work."

"It might." Ray said. "He's still alive. As long as Carlos gets here soon, he should pull through."

"I hope so…" Clementine muttered.

Sarah slowly inched her way towards the window, peeking out. "Hey… I see someone…"

Ray raised a brow, "What?"

"I… I think I know him." Sarah said.

"Sarah, get away from the window." Ray ordered.

"He's coming this way! It's him… It's Carver." Sarah panicked.

"Sarah!" Ray said. "Move!"

The teen flinched, but moved away from the window.

"You two get upstairs, go hide." Ray commanded to the two.

"What about you, Ray?" Clementine asked.

"I'll be fine." Ray said. "Go. Now."

The girls rushed back upstairs, just as a knock came at the door.

"Hello, anybody home?" Came "Carver's" voice.

Ray quickly realized the door wasn't locked. He started to walk toward it, but he was stopped by someone grabbing his wrist.

"Ray…" Pete mumbled.

"Pete? You're awake?" Ray asked.

"Get… the girls… out of here." Pete choked out.

"The girls are safe. I'm going to try to get this guy go away." Ray said.

Pete gave a weak shake of his head. "Take the girls… and go."

Ray paused, "What about you?"

"I'm not… going anywhere. I'll only slow you down."

"Pete, no. We're not going to leave you here." Ray said.

"Listen to me, boy… As much as I… don't want to die, I gotta accept the facts…" Pete said.

Ray opened his mouth to protest, but Pete wasn't hearing it.

"Take the girls…" Pete said. "Get them somewhere…safe."

Ray couldn't say anything else. Instead, he nodded before he rushed upstairs to get the children, just as the door opened.

* * *

Pete laid on the couch, barely able to move. He heard Carver enter the cabin.

Carver searched around and it wasn't long before he entered the living room.

With a smirk on his face he spoke, "You look like crap, Pete…"

Pete said nothing.

"Nothing to say, I see…" Carver said. "Where are the others?"

"Gone…" Pete muttered.

Carver scoffed. "Well, since we're being so honest, I should tell you I ran into your nephew earlier."

"N-Nick?" Pete stuttered, a look of dread on his face.

"He's fine… Don't worry." Carver said. "He told us where to find you."

Pete didn't believe that. Nick wouldn't give up the group's location.

"You could use some medical attention…" Carver said. "Unfortunately, I'm not a doctor… But I have another way to help you."

Pete didn't even flinch when he felt cold metal against his head.

"Where's Rebecca?" Carver asked.

Pete glared at him.

"Answer me!" Carver demanded.

"Fuck you…" Pete managed to get out.

"Wrong answer." Carver said, pulling the trigger without second thought.

* * *

Ray quickly rushed into the girl's room to gather the two children. "We got to go." He said to them.

"W-Where?" Clementine asked. The little girl was sitting in a corner, clutching a gun tightly in her little hands.

"Anywhere but here." Ray said.

Sarah slowly made her way from under the bed, trembling a bit. "We can't leave. What about my dad?"

"We have to leave, Sarah." Ray said. "Your… Your dad will find us."

"O-Okay…" Sarah said. "Promise?"

"Yes. Yes, Sarah. I promise." Ray said quickly. "Pack your stuff, and let's go."

Before anyone could do anything, a gunshot filled the air. They all flinched.

"We gotta move, now." Ray said.

"We can go out the door in the living room, it leads to under the house." Sarah said.

"Alright… We'll do that." Ray said.

The three of them quickly packed up a few necessities.

"Okay… Stay close to me." Ray looked over the stairs railing, trying to catch sight of Carver. He couldn't see him.

He slowly inched down the steps, and noticed the kitchen door close. That man must be in the kitchen.

Ray moved to the couch and grabbed his bag, he felt his heart dropped as his eyes fell on Pete's form.

He forced himself to look away and quickly ushered the girls towards the door. They quickly made their way through the door. Ray got the children outside as fast as possible.

He now held the responsibility of keeping both girls safe… After failing to protect his own sister, he could only hope he'd be able to keep Clementine and Sarah alive.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Thanks to gaara king of the sand for the help!**_

* * *

Clementine couldn't help but feel nervous and each time she noticed Sarah anxiously glancing around, she felt even more nervous. They had been walking for over twenty minutes and had made a good distance away from the cabin.

"You two okay?" Ray asked. "Do you need a break?"

"I'm okay…" Clementine said.

"What about you, Sarah?" Ray asked.

"I… I guess I'm okay…" Sarah muttered. "But…. Where are we going to go?"

"As far away from that cabin as possible." Ray said.

"But what if my dad comes back?" Sarah questioned. "He's going to look for me and I'm not there."

"Unless the walkers got him." Clementine piped up.

Sarah sent the younger girl a look.

"Clem… hush…" Ray said. "I'm sure your dad is fine, Sarah. If he's lasted this long, he must be smart. He knows how to survive."

"Y-Yeah…. He… He is smart. He's a doctor…" Sarah said.

"Exactly…" Ray said.

"Do you think we lost that Carver guy?" Clementine asked Ray.

"I sure hope so." Ray said.

"What about the others…?" Clementine slowly asked.

"Who?" Ray asked.

"Those guys… who hurt me…" Clementine said.

"We've lost them a while ago. Don't worry." Ray told her.

"Okay…" Clementine said. "You don't think they're looking for us."

Ray was quiet for a moment. Knowing Lance and his men, they were definitely looking for them. He didn't want to scare the two girls. "No Clem…."

Clementine looked at him for a moment before frowning. "…I don't believe you…"

Ray frowned. "Clem…"

"I don't believe you! They're looking for us and they're going to find us!" Clementine exclaimed in a slight panic.

"Clementine, please calm down. They're not going to find us." Ray said, trying to calm the girl.

"How do you know?" Clementine inquired. "You don't. You don't know that!"

Sarah was looking back and forth between the two with a concerned expression.

"Clementine, look at me." Ray knelt to the child's level, taking hold of her shoulders. "I won't let them hurt you. I promise I'll protect."

"Like you did before?" Clementine demanded before taking a deep breath. "S-Sorry… I'm just… scared…"

"I know…" Ray hugged the young girl. "We're going to be alright. I'll die before I let anything happen to you two."

"I don't want you to die. Please don't die, Ray. You're all I have left." Clementine said, tears threatening to leave her eyes.

"Which is why I'll do whatever it takes to protect you… Don't worry though. I don't plan on dying any time soon." Ray said.

"Good…" Clementine said.

The two separated from the hug.

"Let's take a break… I need to figure out where we're going to head." Ray said.

The young girls nodded.

The three of them sat in silence for a while.

Finally, Sarah spoke up again, "Ray, why can't we go back to the cabin now?"

"We don't know if that guy is still there. It's too dangerous. Especially if he brought back up…Something tells me he's not alone."

"What does he want, Sarah?" Clementine asked. "Why is he after you guys?"

"I… I don't know…" Sarah frowned.

"Really?" Clementine raised a brow. "You don't know. There has to be a reason… I mean, he killed Pete

"Dad said I shouldn't talk about him because he's bad…" Sarah said. "So… I'm not going to talk…"

"But your dad is not here…" Clementine said.

Sarah was quiet for a while. "When we first went to Howe's Carver seemed nice… but… but then he got mean. He forced everyone to work all day and he would yell if things got messed up… It was so scary. I remember him and Luke would fight a lot. It wasn't until we found out Rebecca was pregnant that things got really bad. He was obsessed with her. He wanted everything to be perfect and if it wasn't he would get really mad. He said anyone who didn't pull their weight was a liability and… and that they didn't deserve to live…."

"What the fuck…? What a psycho…" Ray muttered.

"Dad said he wouldn't find us…" Sarah said. "What does he want? Why can't he leave us alone?"

"I don't know… But I'm going to make sure he doesn't find us now." Ray said.

"What about my dad? What about Rebecca, Luke, and the others?" Sarah asked.

"They'll be fine, Sarah. Hopefully they'll catch up with us…" Ray replied.

"How? We don't even know where we're going..." Sarah said.

"What about Wellington?" Clementine said. "We could go there…"

"What's that?" Sarah asked.

"My friend Christa and I were going there. It's supposed to be safe. It's in Michigan somewhere." Clementine explained. "Why don't we head there?"

"…It might be our best bet…" Ray said.

"Do you think we'll find Christa on the way?" Clementine asked.

"I don't know, Clem… Christa… Christa might be gone…" Ray said.

Clementine's face fell at that. "She's not. She's tough. I'm sure she's okay."

"Alright…" Ray said. "Well, if she's heading there we might run into her."

"I hope we do…" Clementine said.

"For now, you two just stay close to me." Ray said.

"Okay…" Sarah said.

Clementine gave a nod in response.

* * *

Luke was feeling extremely anxious, it had been far too long since they had set out on their search for Nick, Pete, and Ray. With no sign of any of them, Luke and Alvin were beginning to fear the worse. The scattered bodies along the riverbed only worsened those fears.

The two men had searched the bodies and were relieved that none of their group members lay among the corpses.

Hours had passed and they carried on through the woods, hoping to find at least one of their missing group members.

"You think they're okay?" Luke asked, looking worried.

"I hope so… I thought they'd be back by now…" Alvin said.

"Yeah, me too…" Luke said. "They never take this long…"

"Well… Maybe we should split up and see if we can find them…" Alvin suggested.

"No way. That's a bad idea…" Luke asked. "For all we know, Carver could be out there…"

"I guess you're right..." Alvin said. "I wish that asshole would just leave us alone already."

"Don't we all." Luke muttered.

"If I could kill him I would…" Alvin said.

"Too bad you won't get that chance…" A voice spoke as a man stepped out from the bushes.

Alvin glared at Troy as the man chuckled.

They had no time to react before they found themselves surrounded by Carver's guards. Clearly outnumbered their only choice was to surrender.

The guards disarmed the two men and began to tie them up.

"This is way too easy." Troy said. "Three down, four to go."

"What about our girl?" Lance inquired. "We still need to find her."

"Your girl?" Luke repeated.

"Ain't nobody talking to you." Troy snapped before looking to Lance. "Bill said he'll find your girl, and he always keeps his word."

"Well I hope he does… I don't like being lied to…" Lance grumbled.

"Tie these assholes up, we'll take them to the camp." Troy ordered.

"Where's Carver?" Luke asked as Johnny started tying his wrist.

"He went to find the rest of your friends." Troy said.

The guards finished tying the two men and led them to a nearby came.

Troy forced them to the ground and they proceeded to wait for Carver to return from wherever the hell he was.

Luke was surprised when he spotted Nick. "Nick?"

"You guys too?" Nick said with a sigh. "Damn… We're fucked."

"No, we're not. We need to come up with a plan. We need to figure out a way to escape." Luke said.

Alvin shook his head. "You need to figure out a way to escape."

"What do you mean?" Luke asked.

"You need to go warn the others about Carver…" Alvin said.

Luke furrowed his brows, not sure what Alvin was getting at.

"Did Uncle Pete and Ray make it back to the cabin?" Nick asked in a hushed tone.

"I'm not sure… We headed out looking for you guys yesterday…" Luke said. "They were together though?"

"Last I saw them, yeah." Nick said.

"Which means they might have gotten back by now… Either way, Luke needs to go warn the group about Carver." Alvin said.

"Are you out of you mind? I'm not leaving you guys." Luke said.

"We don't have a choice, Luke. Alvin's right. We can't all go…" Nick said. "I'm pretty sure that wouldn't end well."

Luke sighed, "Alright… I'll come back for you guys as soon as we figure out a plan…"

Nick and Alvin nodded.

"We'll distract them and you make a run for it…" Nick said.

Luke gave a nod. He didn't want to leave, but he knew their options were limited.

"Alright…" Nick said. "Hey assholes! You think you could loosen these ropes?"

Troy sent him a look, "Now why the hell would we do that for?"

"You're cutting off my blood circulation." Nick complained.

Bonnie frowned, letting out a sigh. "Alright… Johnny, undo their ropes."

Johnny raised a brow, "You sure?"

"Yeah, what the hell, Bonnie?" Troy complained.

"I'm sure." Bonnie said.

"But why?" Troy demanded.

"You probably tied them too tight." Bonnie said. "It's not like their going anywhere.

"They're prisoners, who cares?" Troy grumbled.

"They're not prisoners, Troy. Stop it." Bonnie said. "Now, Johnny, go ahead. Undo the ropes."

Johnny hesitantly motioned for Nick to come over. Nick did so and Johnny started to untie his ropes.

"So… what, you're Carver's slaves?" Alvin asked. "He tells you to jump and you say, "how high"?"

"Fuck you, man! Ain't no one a slave." Winston growled.

"You sure act like slaves." Alvin said.

"I ain't nobody's fucking slave!" Winston hissed.

"Winston, calm down…" Ralph said.

"Don't tell me to calm down. Did you hear what he just fucking called us?" Winston snapped.

"Ralph's right. No point in getting worked up over these assholes." Lance said. "We need to focus on the task at hand. Getting our girl back…"

"Right… Sorry…" Winston said.

Johnny finished undoing Nick's ties and Nick took a moment to rub over his wrist.

"That's better." Nick stated.

Before anyone could say another word, Nick delivered a punch to Johnny's face.

Johnny stumbled back from the blow.

"Hey!" Troy snapped, aiming his gun at Nick.

With the attention focused on Nick, Luke opportunity to run. He hoped Nick would back down before Troy decided to actually pulled the trigger.

When the sound of a gunshot reached his ears, his heart dropped in his chest.

Luke tried to shake away the horrific thought of his two friends lying lifeless on the ground. He told himself that they were fine.

He forced himself to keep running, hoping he would make it to the others before Carver did.

* * *

Ray looked over a map, trying to pinpoint exactly how far they were from this Wellington place. Clementine had mentioned it being in Michigan, which meant they had quite a distance to go.

Ray just hoped they'd be able to find some place safe soon. He glanced over to the girls who were caught in a game of "I spy". They seemed to be okay for now. "How you two holding up?"

"…I miss my dad…" Was Sarah's response.

Ray didn't know how many times she had said it, but his answer was always the same. "I know…"

"I hope he finds us soon…" Sarah said.

"And maybe he will… But right now, we need to focus on getting somewhere safe." Ray said.

"Okay… But we were safe at the cabin…" Sarah said.

"We weren't. If Carver is as bad as you guys say he is, then it's not safe to be there with him." Ray said.

"I know, but did we have to leave the others? My dad is probably worried." Sarah said with a frown.

"He'd want you to be safe, Sarah. That's important." Ray said. "Leaving was our only choice."

"Or we would've ended up like Pete…" Clementine said.

Sarah gasped, looking over to Ray fearfully. "We… We won't end up like Pete… Will we?"

"No… I won't let that happen. I promise." Ray replied.

"You have to pinky swear…." Sarah said. "That's forever…"

"Okay then…" Ray agreed. "I'll pinky swear."

Sarah held out her pinky, motioning for Clementine to do the same.

Ray looked to the two young girls and locked pinkies with them. "I'll keep you two safe."

* * *

Luke didn't even take a moment to catch his breath as he rushed towards the cabin.

A thousand thoughts were running through his head. He had no idea what to do if Carver was at the cabin. He was weaponless, thanks to Troy.

His musing came to an end as he bumped into someone.

"Luke?" Came Rebecca's voice.

"Rebecca, Carlos… Thank God." Luke said.

"Where's Alvin?!" Rebecca inquired, noticing Alvin was not with him.

"They… They caught him." Luke said.

"Who?" Carlos asked.

"Carver men…" Luke said. "Our guard was down and we got caught…"

"No! We gotta do something!" Rebecca gasped.

"What about Nick? Did you find him?" Carlos asked.

"They got him too..." Luke said. "What are you two doing out here."

"We were searching for you. You were gone for so long…" Rebecca said. "I can't believe this is happening…"

"Where are the girls?" Luke asked.

"We left them at the cabin…" Carlos said.

"Alone?" Luke asked.

"Yeah…" Carlos said.

"Shit… We need to go get them." Luke said.

"Wait, what?" Rebecca asked. "We NEED to go help Alvin and Nick!"

"No. We need to get the girls. Alvin and Nick will be fine, they're tough. But Carver's out there and if the kids are alone at the cabin and he shows up there, it's not going to be good." Luke said.

"Luke's right. We need to make sure the girls are safe." Carlos said.

Rebecca sighed. "Okay… You're right… But then we go help Alvin and Nick."

"We will, but we need a plan. Did Ray and Pete ever come back?" Luke asked.

"We left first thing this morning. We wouldn't know…" Carlos said.

"Hopefully they did… This whole situation is fucked…" Luke muttered, shaking his head.

"I told you not to go… I warned you." Rebecca said. "It was a bad move…"

"We had to help our people, Bec…" Luke said.

"And now look what's happened. Leaving didn't help anything! Now Alvin got caught!" Rebecca snapped.

"We didn't know that was going to happen…" Luke said.

"How did you get away?" Carlos asked.

"Nick and Alvin distracted them… They told me to warn you guys and make sure you were safe…" Luke explained.

Rebecca just frowned. "I can't believe this… This is awful…"

"Everything's going to be okay…" We're going to figure something out. We just gotta get the kids and…" Luke trailed off as the cabin came into view. "Something doesn't feel right…"

The others nodded in agreement.

As they walked through the clearing and towards the cabin, they couldn't help but feel something was wrong.

Approaching the front porch stairs, they saw the door was wide open.

Carlos felt his heart thunder in his chest. He had specifically told Clementine to lock the door and not open it.

They entered the cabin, Carlos and Rebecca kept their guns close as they stepped inside.

The place was a mess, glass from picture frames was shattered on the floor, furniture was thrown backwards, the lamp was broken. The three stood in shock for a few moments before they finally took notice of a familiar form on the couch.

"Pete?" Luke called, a look of concern on his face.

When there was no response, Carlos inched closer to the man on the couch. The doctor felt his blood run cold as he noticed the bullet wound in Pete's head. Carlos felt ill from the sight.

"Is he…?" Rebecca trailed off, anxiousness filling her at Carlos's silence.

"He… He's dead…" Carlos said.

"Fuck…" Luke swore, eyes wide. "What the fuck happened?"

"He's been shot…" Carlos noted. He looked over Pete's form and something else caught his eye. "He… He's missing a leg…" He tried to put together what must have happened to the man, but there was so much to take in it was hard to imagine…

"Damn it… Just… fuck…" Luke muttered as he began pacing a bit.

"What do we do now? What are we going to do?" Rebecca asked.

"Where's Ray? Nick said him and Pete were together… He should be here…" Luke huffed.

"I don't see him…" Rebecca said.

"I'm going to check on Sarah…" Carlos said. "She must be terrified."

The doctor rushed upstairs before anyone could get another word out.

Rebecca looked to Pete with a sad look. She couldn't help but feel guilty about everything that had happened. "This is horrible… It… It's all my fault."

Luke shook his head. "Don't say that, Rebecca. It's not your fault."

"But it is… We all know what Bill wants." Rebecca muttered.

"He's fucking crazy. We're doing the right thing by staying away from him. You know that…" Luke said.

"Pete didn't deserve this…" Rebecca said.

"No… He didn't…" Luke said.

"We… We gotta help Alvin… We need to hurry. If not… Carver is going to kill him…" Rebecca said.

"We're going to help him. Nothing else is going to happen. We'll get the girls, figure out a way to help Alvin and Nick, then we head north. We'll lose him up in the mountains."

"Okay…" Rebecca nodded. "We-"

"They're gone!" Carlos suddenly exclaimed, rushing downstairs.

"What?" Luke asked.

"The girls are gone!" Carlos repeated.

Rebecca's heart dropped, her eyes grew wide in horror. "Bill must've gotten to them… God damn it!"

"What do we do…?" Luke asked.

"I'm going to find him… I need to find my daughter…" Carlos said as he started to make his way towards the door.

"Carlos, wait!" Rebecca grabbed his arm. "We can't go to him…"

"We don't have a choice. He has all our people. We have to go." Carlos said.

"That's what he wants. You're walking right into his trap." Rebecca said.

"If that's what it takes to get Sarah back, so be it." Carlos replied.

"Carlos, do you even hear yourself right now?" Luke asked. "Be rational about this. We need to come up with a plan."

"We don't have time to make up a plan." Carlos said. "My daughter's life is at risk."

"So… what? We turn ourselves in and then what do we do?" Luke demanded.

"Who said anything about turning ourselves in?" Carlos responded, pulling his arm from Rebecca's hold. "I'm going to find Carver… and I'm going to kill him…"

"We won't be able to… Not with all his men… Our best bet is to play it cool so he lets his guard down, meanwhile we'll come up with an escape plan." Rebecca said.

"Rebecca's right. That's our best bet. And in order for that to work, you need to keep a cool head, Carlos." Luke said.

"Okay…" Carlos grumbled.

"Good…" Luke said. "Alright… Now or never… Let's go get our people back…"

"Lead the way…" Rebecca said.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Thanks to gaara king of the sand for the help.**_

* * *

"Ray... Where are we going to go?" Sarah asked in a small voice.

"We just gotta keep moving. We'll find some place safe soon." Ray replied.

"Like what?" Sarah asked.

"I don't know." Ray said honestly with a sigh.

"Maybe we can go to Wellington?" Clementine suggested.

It wasn't the first time that the young girl had suggested Wellington, but Ray didn't know if it was a good idea to head there. "Clem..."

"It could be safe there." Clementine said. "And we might find Christa."

"Clem, it's risky." Ray said.

"But everything's risky. We should at least try to find Wellington. It's better than wandering around aimlessly." Clementine said.

"We head north... and if we stumble upon this Wellington place, fine. But we're not going to search it out." Ray replied.

Clementine crossed her arms and asked, "Why?"

"Because there's a chance it might not exist, Clem." Ray said.

"It does too. Christa says it does." Clementine said.

"How could Christa know for sure?" Ray asked.

"We ran into a couple people who were heading there. Christa didn't believe it at first, but after hearing about it over and over again, it just seemed like it had to be true." Clementine said.

"Or too good to be true." Ray muttered.

Clementine shook her head.

"Look, my only concern right now is making sure you two stay safe, and that means we have to be smart and careful." Ray said.

"So where are we going then?" Clementine asked.

Ray reached into his bag, grabbing a map that he had picked up from the cabin. "There's a ski lodge up in the mountains. We keep heading north and we'll get there. It's a bit of a walk, but it might be safe there.

"How much of a walk?" Sarah asked.

"Depending on our pace, probably four or five days." Ray replied.

The girls looked surprised.

"What about my dad... And Rebecca, and the others?" Sarah asked. "We should wait for them."

"We can't." Ray shook his head. "I... Hopefully they catch up to us."

"But why can't we wait?" Sarah asked.

"We need to keep moving, just in case we're being trailed." Ray replied. "Your dad and the other might find us eventually."

Sarah gave a slow nod. "I hope they do soon."

"Right now, let's just focus on getting somewhere safe. I'm sure the others are fine." Ray said.

"Okay..." Sarah said.

Clementine gave a reluctant nod as well. She hoped this ski lodge would be safe.

* * *

"I'm starting to have second thoughts..." Rebecca mumbled.

"Yeah. Same, but our people are in trouble. We'll be fine." Luke said.

"You... You don't think Bill hurt anyone, do you?" Rebecca asked.

"With him, you can never tell what he's gonna do." Luke huffed.

"He's after me... I've put everyone in danger." Rebecca said with a frown.

Luke disagreed. "That's not true, Bec. None of this is your fault. Carver's crazy and we all know it."

"...So what's our plan?" Rebecca asked.

"We play it cool. Turn ourselves in, and strike when the time is right." Luke said.

Carlos however shook his head. "No..."

"What's wrong?" Luke asked.

"If all of us get captured, it'll be harder to escape. You need to hang back." Carlos said.

Luke's eyes grew wide. "What? No way. I-"

"He's right. You'll be able to help us from the other side. You know once we're in the pen it's going to be hard to get out." Rebecca said.

"So what? You want me to stand there and let you guys get captured?" Luke asked in disbelief. "That's not happening.

"No." Carlos said. "I'm going to allow myself to get captured. And you two are going to stay back."

Rebecca and Luke were both floored by his words.

"Carlos, don't be stupid." Rebecca said.

"I'm not. You're pregnant. We can't put you and the baby at risk." Carlos said.

"But he'll just keep looking for me. This won't end until he finds me..." Rebecca pointed out.

"I know... I have a plan for that..." Carlos said.

"What?" Luke asked.

"If you recall, we had a conversation a while ago about heading north, if things didn't work out at the cabin." Carlos reminded them.

Luke gave a nod, "Yeah..."

"On the map, it showed a ski lodge... I can lead Carver there... You two can trail us, and we'll attack when his guard is down." Carlos suggested.

There was a brief silence.

"That's... not a bad idea..." Luke said.

"But are you sure it's going to work?" Rebecca asked.

"I can't guarantee anything, but this is our best plan..." Carlos said. "There's not much more we can do when he has half our people held hostage."

Rebecca and Luke exchanged looks then sighed.

"Alright..." Luke said.

* * *

"So that cabin, it was empty when I got there. I'm gonna take it that your people cut and run." Carver said. "So where are they?"

Nick and Alvin both remained silent, refusing to answer the question. Not that they knew exactly where their people were currently.

"I'm not going to ask again. Tell me where Rebecca is, or else I'm going to get real angry." Carver grumbled.

"That not happening. I'm not going to let you go anywhere near my wife or my baby." Alvin said.

"I think you mean MY baby." Carver replied.

"That's my family. And I ain't letting you go anywhere near them." Alvin said.

"Unfortunately, you don't have much of a choice in the matter." Carver said with a smirk.

Alvin and Nick were both surprised when he drew his gun.

"One more chance. Where's Rebecca?"

Nick looked away, not responding.

"Fuck you." Alvin said.

Carver scoffed and aimed his gun. "Wrong answer."

He didn't hesitate before he pulled the trigger.

* * *

"So since we're out here... I'm thinking it's crucial that you two learn how to protect yourselves." Ray said.

"I know how to shoot a gun." Clementine replied. "My friend Lee taught me."

"When's the last time you shot one?" Ray asked.

"Back when I was with Christa." Clementine said. "She only let me use it if I really had to... after what happened with Omid..."

"Who's Omid?" Ray asked.

"What happened?" Sarah questioned.

Clementine frowned. "I... I don't want to talk about it..."

"Okay, Clem... That's alright." Ray said before looking to Sarah. "Have you learned how to defend yourself?"

"Well… Kind of…" Sarah said.

"What do you mean?" Ray asked.

"Clementine taught me." Sarah said.

Ray raised a brow. "You did?"

"I actually just explained to her how to use a gun. We didn't actually get to practice." Clementine said.

"Yeah. She just told me how to shoot." Sarah said.

"That was a bold move, Clem. Carlos would've been pissed." Ray said to the girl in a strict tone.

Clementine lowered her head for a moment before looking back up. "I know, but it's important. She should know how to shoot. Carlos can't protect her from everything."

"Yeah… You're right…" Ray sighed. "You both need to be able to protect yourselves. Just in case."

"In case of what?" Sarah asked.

"In case something bad were to happen." Ray said. Considering things were already bad, he meant if things got worse.

"My… My dad is good at protecting me." Sarah stated.

"He's not here." Clementine pointed out. "He can't protect you if he's not here."

"But… He's going to find us." Sarah claimed.

"I thought Christa was going to find me, but she hasn't yet." Clementine said sadly.

"But you think she's still out there, right?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah…. Well… At least I hope she is…" Clementine replied. "I really don't know what to think. I can't know for sure… I hope she got to Wellington, or maybe she could be at that ski lodge… Wherever she is, I hope she's safe."

"My dad will find us." Sarah said in a confident way. "He's looking for us right now."

"Even if that is true, it could take days or even weeks for him to find us." Clementine said.

Sarah frowned at that.

"Clem's right." Ray said. "You need to learn how to protect yourself now, just in case something was to happen. If we get separated, you should know what to do…"

Sarah still remained hesitant. "My dad might get upset… I don't like to disappoint him."

"Your dad wants you to be safe, and knowing how to shoot is step one to survival." Ray said.

Sarah sighed. "…Okay…"

* * *

After discussing the plan, Luke led the way to when he had last seen Carver's group.

When Carver and his people were visible through the trees, they noticed a few things. Sarah, Clementine, and Ray were nowhere to be seen. And both Nick and Alvin appeared to be injured.

"Alvin…" Rebecca gasped, as she spotted her husband laid upon the ground. "He… He's…"

"Rebecca, calm down." Luke said.

"Don't tell me to calm down." Rebecca shot him a glare, struggling to keep her voice low. "Alvin's hurt."

"I'll take care of him. We stick to the plan." Carlos said.

Rebecca started to protest. "But-"

"This is our best chance at saving Alvin's life." Carlos said.

"He's right, Rebecca. We gotta be smart about this."

Rebecca sighed. "O-Okay… Be careful."

"I will…" Carlos said. His heart was pounding, he only wanted to see his daughter again. He hoped she was alright. With a brief hesitation he stepped out of the clearing.

The second the group spotted him, he was held at gun point.

Carlos quickly surrendered.

"Nice to see you again, Carlos." Carver smirked. "Where's Rebecca."

"Where's Sarah?" Carlos looked around the area.

"Sarah?" Carver raised a brow. "I thought she'd be with you."

Carlos's eyes grew wide. He didn't know where his daughter could be.

"Now answer my question. Where's Rebecca?"

"You… You know where my daughter is! Tell me now!" Carlos ordered.

Carver glared at him. "You're not in the position to make demands. Not unless you want to end up like Alvin."

Carlos glanced to Alvin with a concerned look.

"Don't worry, he's not dead. Just unconscious. He took quite a beating and a bullet only hit his shoulder." Carver said. "Now, make this easy for yourself. Take me to Rebecca."

Carlos responded by spatting in Carver's face.

Carver wiped his face clean and punched the doctor in the stomach. "Alright then." He turned to Troy. "Tie him up."

"Hold on, Bill." Lance spoke. "We've helped you out, but you still haven't helped us find out folks yet."

"Our work here's not done. We're still missing, Luke, Sarah, and most importantly Rebecca." Carver said. "Once we find the pregnant woman, I'll help you. She's my main concern."

"The longer we wait, the further Ray gets with my girl." Lance grumbled.

"Ray…?" Carlos asked.

"Yeah, Ray." Lance said. "You know him?"

"I… might…" Carlos said.

Lance took a few steps to wards him. "You have to tell me where he is…"

Carlos stayed silent.

"He's a dangerous person… He's… He's been sexually abusing a young girl…" Lance said. "A young girl I promised to look after."

Carlos felt his stomach drop. If Ray was with Sarah, who knew what might happen to his daughter. He knew he shouldn't have trusted that boy.

"Please… Tell me where he is." Lance said.

"I… I don't know for sure, but I may have an idea..." Carlos said.

"Is that right? What about Rebecca?" Carver demanded. "Where is she?"

"I... I'll take you to her... If you let me treat Alvin's wound..." Carlos said. He didn't want Alvin to bleed to death, or catch an infection.

"Whoa, what are you doing, Carlos?" Nick asked.

Carlos ignored him.

"Fair enough." Carver agreed. He motioned for Troy to untie Carlos.

Troy groaned. "You're kidding, right?"

"Now, Troy." Carver said.

"How do we know this ain't a trap." Troy asked as he started untying Carlos.

"If it is, we'll be ready." Carver simply replied.


End file.
